Vampire Braces
by Kazuya Arsashi008
Summary: There is only one thing that Kaname Kuran loathes just as much as he does Rido. And NO, it's not Zero. Warning: Crack fic! wahaha! and possible yaoi malexmale in coming chapters. R&R pwease! :D
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Awfully painful braces, yes. Vampire Knight…? Uh…yes!! Ok, ok, fine… NO. (sniff!)

NOTE: I have NOTHING against dental braces, nor against the general orthodontics society. I can not deny the benefits I would reap from these…uh…'lovely' little metal contraptions in my mouth…but as of now, I am in pain. So…anything else goes, k?

WARNING: characters may seem OOC! Well…what do you expect from all this pain- er, I mean… hormones…? Hehe…?

CAUTION: CHOKING HAZARD…to all yaoi-haters…hehe…well, not NOW but maybe…soon…who knows…whatever…yeah. Whatever.

--

"Uh…Kaname…?"

Dark clouds were on the horizon. Thick, foreboding… A flash of lightning streaked across the already darkening canvass that was the sky. It seemed like it was going to rain…well, not quite. It looked more like the sky was going to rain down not water but dangerous streaks of lightning that will fry anyone or anything that it would come across.

Mmm…fried humans.

"Kaname…? Are you ok…?"

It was dark, gloomy, and foreboding. No, it was not just the sky now. Kaname Kuran, dorm president and head of the Night Class, held such a…morose expression he put the depressed sky to shame. It was autumn now, and sun-dried leaves carpeted the school grounds. The brunette was walking back to the Moon Dorms from an appointment. The leaves gave a satisfying crunch underneath his black boots.

"… Did something happen…?"

Ichijou had been calling out to him since a while ago, asking him about his trip. So far, he got no response. And the look Kaname had was… Well, from the looks of it, what happened was not good…at ALL.

"…"

"…Kaname…?"

Seething reddish-brown orbs looked at the blonde. "What is it, Ichijou?"

The blonde felt like he was being looked upon like a small helpless mouse…a big fat one, about to be pounced on by a terribly hungry cat. Nevertheless, he spoke, "…Uh…How did the appointment go…?"

Those scary red eyes narrowed dangerously at him. Oh, he was doomed, doomed, dooooo-

Kaname turned and walked up the grand staircase, his black overcoat swishing in a dangerous motion, like a giant gliding manta ray. Upon reaching the top, he glanced back at Ichijou and motioned for him to follow with his hand.

The blonde gulped unconsciously. Was the cat going to eat him somewhere else now?

Oh the heck with it.

As they say, 'curiosity killed the cat…'

…or maybe in this case, the 'mouse'.

--

Zero glanced outside the class window, wistfully staring at the now 'balding' tree. The leaves were the most attractive shade of red and orange and they fluttered down like butterflies…shot down into their doom…one by one-

"Huh?"

The silver-haired teen blinked at the new 'metaphor' he had just formed. He'd just remembered… Yuuki kept telling him he had too many violent thoughts. He should try to tone it down, or something. She was probably scared that he was going to do that 'attempted suicide' thing again.

-…-

-…'less violent' thoughts, huh?-

-…-

-There was a bluebird perched on the tree branch now.-

-…-

-They said that bluebirds were a symbol of happiness.-

-…-

-…It's…kinda alone, isn't it…?-

-…-

-…Maybe it's partner got shot or something.-

-…OH CRAP. Violent thought again. Dammit…-

-Let's try again-

-Yeah, bluebird…alone…no partner…-

-…Is it even a 'she'?? Or maybe it's…OMG! It's GAY!!-

Zero twitched. This 'no violent thoughts' thing was driving him insane. He should probably listen back on the lesson-

-But wait-

-Can a bird be actually GAY?? (O.O)-

…

Another leaf fluttered down from the tree branch, falling like the delicate strands of Zero's sanity…

--

(Back at the Moon Dorms…Kaname's room)

"Pfft…"

"…"

"M-my goodness-"

"…" A stare.

"…Seriously…?"

"…" A solemn nod.

"Oh. God. …Pfft… I'm so sorry, Kaname but…but…" Ichijou was shaking. He couldn't take it anymore…

"hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!"

Kaname's eye twitched. "It's not THAT funny, Ichijou…"

The blonde wiped a tear from the corner of his eye, "I'm sorry! It's just that…you're a-…and braces-"

"I know. It sounds ridiculous. I tried to tell him it wasn't necessary but he-"

"A vampire with braces!" Another long train of laughter, interrupted only when Kaname put a hand to Ichijou's mouth.

"Listen, NO ONE should know about this. This will be a secret between you and me, understand?"

A nod.

"Good." The brunette released his 'prisoner' and walked solemnly over to the floor-to-ceiling window.

The blonde blinked, "So…when does he want you back…?"

"Tomorrow. Afternoon."

Ichijou smiled, "Then you'd better take good care of your teeth until then."

Kaname looked at him incredulously. How could this…person be taking this news so lightly?? Doesn't he realize the pure gravity of this situation-

The blonde patted Kaname's shoulder, "Now, don't you go overboard on this. They're just braces. I'm sure you can handle it."

"-almost as how easily I can break that dentist's head off-"

"Kaname."

A defeated sigh. "Fine. I'll try not to kill him."

"…Kaname…"

"I'll kill him when the whole thing's over and done with."

Sigh. Ichijou shook his head quietly. He has a feeling that somehow, someway, the entire balance of the cosmos had been broken. Then again, what was life without some adventures, right…?

TBC

--

Yayzzz!! Chapter one up!!

Oww…darn, these things are STILL aching…dammit…

Oh dear, I can hardly wait until my lovable dentist puts on the bottom half. (yes, I am only wearing the top part first. My ever-caring dentist said that if he put in both I might…get shocked and die. Ok, the 'die' part was my own thought but HEY, it could happen… T.T)

Anywayyyy…

I hope y'all review!! Cause that's practically the only way I'll continue with this…:D

Please review!! Reviewing is a healthy and stress-free exercise that is good for the soul!!

Wahahahaha!! Ok, so maybe not REALLY for the soul…but your typing fingers sure could use some exercise! 


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Yes, I'm still in pain. Yes, this chapter was written on the same day I wrote and posted the first chapter so my pain isn't THAT prolonged. No, I still don't own Vampire Knight. Yes, I am Zero's fiancée… XD Ok, ok…enough jokes. Some fangirls might skewer me alive on that one…

A special thanks to **glozinga** for being my first reviewer!! Hehe…I know it's kinda unfair to just give appreciation to the first reviewer but –hey!- you have to admit, glozinga was pretty quick…or lucky to spot my fic!! Domo arigatou!! :D

A big thankies to all who reviewed!! :D

WARNING: Uh…well, basically the same as the first chapter's. hehe. And if you don't know that…you are a rare specie of people that reads only the second chapter of fics and eats everyone's left shoe. …No wait, that's Stitch… XD

--

"Ahh…Kaname-sama! It's so nice to see you again!"

The brunette flashed that one-million-dollar smile at the dentist, "Likewise, Enju-sensei (1)."

The dentist's office was small, compact, and neat. That was because he was a special dentist. A vampire dentist. Nevertheless, he also caters to normal people's dental needs. However, no normal human client seems to notice that their dentist doesn't seem to age. At all. He always looks, like, 19 or something.

"Please." A motion to the dental chair.

Kaname always hated that chair. It looked like the modern version of the iron maiden to him (open-air version, of course). And don't get him started on that special light. It annoyed him to bits.

Thankfully, Kaname Kuran was a person of amazing self-control.

…THAT, and Ichijou would nag his head off if he finds out that this particular appointment did not go as smoothly as he planned.

"Open your mouth please."

'So I can bite your head off? Why, of course.' The brunette chuckled inwardly at the random inside joke. Hey, if he keeps doing this, he might just get through this meeting well. You know, with no casualties whatsoever.

Yeah…inside jokes…

The dentist blinked and pulled away from his initial inspection, "Do you have any past experiences with dental attachments before, Kaname-sama? Retainers, perhaps?"

'No. And I don't plan on having any.' A polite shake of his head. Man, Kaname was good at this. Maybe this whole affair was nothing to get flustered about after all-

"Ah, I see. …I suppose we could just put in molar bands first so you'd get used to it…" The blonde dentist turned his back on the noble and leafed through a random cabinet.

'Give me all you've got, doc. NOTHING in this little dental office could possibly hurt me.'

The dentist was back now. He was holding a small roll of metal wire. He set it down beside the now ominous-looking dental scissors.

Still, Kaname held fast to his pride. He smiled back at the dentist, seeming confident.

Enju-sensei's smile never faded one bit either, "Let's get started then."

--

(Cross Academy… Transition Period)

"Ok, everyone. We're going out now-"

"Ne, Ichijou!"

Sigh. Renewed mega-watt smile. "Yes, Aido?"

"Where's Kaname-sama??"

Silence.

Ichijou twitched. He was hoping that no one would note that particular question. Well, of course there were many easy answers. He could just say that Kaname was busy in his room. Or that he was tired. Or lazy. They'd accept those reasons like a thirsty rabbit accepts water. But… he already tried a random 'acceptable' excuse with Kain a while ago.

And, needles to say, it didn't go too well…

((Flashback))

Humming.

Takuma Ichijou was humming a cheery little tune as he walked down the dimly-lit hallways. He was a stark contrast to this whole setting. He stood out like a bright lit candle.

However, there were people who blended well into the dark setting.

"Ichijou."

The blonde jumped a bit. Did that pillar just talk to him??

…Akatsuki Kain stepped out of the shadows.

A relieved sigh. "Oh Kain! It's just you… Is anything wrong? …Did Aido do something again?"

The taller teen jabbed a thumb at the general direction of their bedroom, "No. Aido's still asleep. I came to ask you about something."

"Oh. Ok. What is it?"

"… A while ago…"

"Yes..?"

"…While I was walking in that hallway over there…"

"Uh-huh…?"

"I heard something strange. Like…laughing. Your laughing."

The blonde froze. So he WAS laughing too hard. Well, at least it was just Kain. He can get by this easy. "Uh…It's just that Kaname told me this hilarious incident-"

"So Kaname-sama told jokes now, huh?"

Ichijou felt uncomfortable underneath that blank but questioning stare. He nodded.

"…Speaking of Kaname-sama…Where is he?"

'-GAH! Use humor, Takuma!! Humor always works!!' "Uh, don't tell me that you've already caught Aido's Kaname fandom, huh, Kain? Ah, Ruka has some competition then, eh?"

Kain looked at the -now-obviously twitching blonde. "…"

"Ahahaha… ha…ha…"

"…"

The blonde blinked, "Uh, well, I can assure you that Kaname is in an important braces-I mean-meeting! Well, I have to go! It's almost twilight!"

Zoom.

The orange-haired teen blinked. "…braces…?"

((End of Flashback))

Ichijou bit down on his lower lip (with his normal human teeth, of course). He really should just keep his mouth shut…

"Wherever he is, I'm sure it's because he has to do something important, right Ichijou?"

The blonde blinked and nodded (appreciatively) at Shiki's excellent entrance.

The still-sleepy looking brunette gave a random small smile at the blonde before heading out with the rest of the Night Class.

--

(Moon Gates… Transition Time)

"PRRRRRRRRRTTTTTTT!!" Yuuki blew her newly-acquired whistle (or 'human heralder' as Zero calls it…) to part the already excited girls.

Zero didn't even need to speak. He was just standing there staring (down) at the girls coldly. It was a good technique, though, seeing as how the girls were frozen in fear.

They all heard a creak.

The girls squealed but the Moon Gates did not open. Instead, the creak came from the main entrance gate, so they all focused their attention on that one (because humans like staring at creaking gates…lol).

A walking figure in a black overcoat was walking towards them.

The atmosphere suddenly got…chilly. And Zero hasn't even recognized who that figure was.

He only recognized 'it' when 'it' came closer.

"Kaname-senpai!!" Yuki chirruped, not out of her usual greeting but as a way of exclaiming.

Kaname…in a word…looked…scary.

The girls, who usually crowded him, parted like the Red Sea. It didn't help that Zero was in the way, either.

The brunette stared at the Kiryuu. Everyone thought that a glaring fight was to ensue, but Kaname turned and avoided him before making his way to the Moon Gates.

Zero was…confused, to say the least. It was bothering him, and it was probably just a trick of the light (A/N: what light??) but he thought he saw Kaname…pink. You know, like with a slight flush on his cheeks.

Dammit, it made him look cute.

'AGH! ZERO KIRYUU! GET-A-HOLD-OF-YOUR-SELF!! You HATE that guy, remember??'

'-Well, yeah, but he looked cute then-'

'NOOOOO!! SHUT UP, SHUT, UP, SHUT UP!! …and MAN, WHY am I talking to myself?? …And inside my head, too…'

'-I dunno. Your fault, I guess-'

The silver-haired teen stopped his mental banter just at the exact time he saw Kaname's head collide with the side of the opening Moon Gates.

Kaname, it seemed, was a bit out of it and did not quickly open the Moon gates as soon as he reached them (flustered…? Dizzy…? Pink…? Lol). So, in a way, the gates opened themselves for him. (:D)

There was a small 'bump!' noise when the Moon dorm president's head hit the gates. The said dorm president automatically put a hand to his injured (-noggin-) head and stumbled back a few steps.

Ichijou audibly squeaked when he saw who he had hit. Oh darn, if he only knew opening the gates needed some sort of loud verbal warning like 'I'M OPENING THE GATES. PLEASE GET OUT OF THE WAY.'. But this has never happened before!! So how could he have known-

"Ichijou—"

'Oh crap! Kaname saw him!!'

"You—"

The blonde quickly grabbed the brunette and ran with him back to the dorms, slamming the door in the process.

…

Stunned silence.

…

Shiki walked over to Yuuki and borrowed her whistle. He blew on it and hand-signaled the Night Class to follow him, which they quietly did.

As the Night Class was being heralded away like a bunch of obedient sheep, Yuuki walked over to Zero, who was now sporting an expression aside from the usual option 'brood'. In fact, it seemed that an amused smile was creeping its way into his face.

"What do you think happened to him, Zero?" Yuuki's worried voice floated into the other's ears.

Zero just shook his head. Well, whatever it was, it certainly was amusing.

The two walked away now, to watch over the vampires.

…

Yuuki blinked.

…

"Zero… Are you smiling??"

Zero put a hand over his mouth and forced the newly-formed smile down.

"Waaiii!! You were smiling!! I better go tell the Headmaster!!"

"No, wait!! Yuuki!! Don't!!" The other twitched, and ran after the suddenly-hyper child.

A happy little (married) bluebird chirruped happily in the distance, almost as if it was heralding the events to come.

--

Wahaahahaha!! Chapter 2 up!!

OMG. That 'Kaname-hitting-his-head-on-the-gate' thing was soooooooooooooo totally random!! But it was worth it, though! XD

NOTE: (1)- Enju-sensei: he's an OC of mine for Bleach. His full name is Furumikoshi Enju (Miko, for short). I just used him randomly here. He has blond hair and is a very nice guy. :D

Anyway, I must leave and fill my stomach with foodstuff.

But, more than normal physical hunger, I also hunger emotionally.

…

Feed my soul reviews.

…

-OMG! That was soooooooooo creepy. XD

Hey, my teeth aren't aching that bad anymore!! XD

(innerself: That's because you've forgotten about that 3-day pain period your dentist told you about T.T)

Eh, right…

Soooooooooooooooooooooooooooo………

Please review!! This fic totally lives on those!! :D


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: WOHOOO!! It's not aching so much anymore!! Wheeeee!!

(innerself: That's because it's already the fourth day, stupid. The three day pain period is over…T.T)

Oh. Kay. …

…But I know Kaname's pain period is just beginning. Muwahahahaha!!

(innerself: Aren't you supposed to say something in this section…?)

Oh. RIGHT. Me. Vampire Knight? No own.

(innerself: Couldn't have said it better myself…T.T)

Welcome to the THANKIES corner!!:

**glozinga** – Wow! You did it again!! You were my first second chapter reviewer!! :D (huggles) Your reviews make me feel all fuzzy inside… Oh yeah, thankies for reviewing my other co-written fic too (The Night Class Interview). My co-writer also sends her thanks! :D

**Saga - **...and trust me, I won't stop on you! Wahaha! Sooo many people seriously love that bumping scene, eh? It was sooo totally random.. but glad you liked it!! :D

**Yuffie **– Ah, 'braces' comrade!! May this fic comfort you in your sorrows!! I know it worked for me! :D

AND THANKIES TO EVERYONE ELSE WHO REVIEWED!! aww.. I feel soooo... wuved. Pyu. :3

--

"Uh…Kaname…?"

"…"

"I'm really, really sorry-"

Kaname Kuran held up a hand. It was that 'save it' stance.

Ichijou didn't like it one bit, but he took it as sign to stop babbling apologies. Kaname was never one for them.

When they were younger and had the chance to play in the vast backyard of Ichijou manor, the blonde accidentally pushed Kaname to the ground. He started spouting apologies like a neurotic bunny but the other had none of it. Kaname made him shut up by pulling the (taller) kid down by his collar and whispering dangerously, "If you don't shut up, I am going to forget I've forgiven you MINUTES ago and kick you-HARD."

Well, Kaname wasn't much of a blackmailer then, but hey, it was the threat that counted.

"…Are you alright? How did the appointment go?"

The brunette blinked, silently deliberating if he should talk or not.

Well, it didn't hurt THAT much but…it still felt uncomfortable.

…And kinda achy. Yeah, just a bit.

"I'm fine."

A relieved sigh. "Oh. That's great, then… And the dentist…?"

Kaname looked at Ichijou incredulously, who returned his look just as evenly.

"…He's still alive, if that's what you mean."

The blonde nodded, satisfied.

…

"So…do you plan on going to class any time soon?"

Kaname huffed silently, "After THAT little accident, I think I should lie low for a while."

Ichijou chuckled, "Lie low? You? And how does the Kaname Kuran plan on doing that? By wearing a paper bag on his head?"

The brunette rolled his eyes.

"Well, we both now you can't seriously 'lie low' around these parts, Kaname. Your…uh…Well, you're already too much of a give-away."

…

Kaname draped a hand over his eyes. Lying down on his couch like that…it was the ultimate sign of laziness. But only Kaname could make laziness looks so…ultimately seductive. "You should go now, Ichijou. The Night Class would be needing your watchful guidance."

"Ah, like what I've been doing these past few years? And there's no need to hurry. Shiki's watching them for me."

Reddish-brown orbs looked at him, "Shiki, you say…? Since when does Shiki do anything voluntarily? Especially helping out like that-"

Ichijou pouted slightly, "He's not that bad! Shiki's a really nice guy-"

Kaname rolled a bit so now he was resting on his side, smirking openly at the other, "Don't you mean 'Senri-kun' (1)…?"

The blonde turned an adorable shade of pink before turning away, "I hope you get a good rest, Kaname. You need it. So much so that your mind is now playing tricks on you. See you later."

The door clicked shut.

Kaname laughed a bit and turned so that he was facing the ceiling again. Ichijou really wasn't that good at hiding secrets…

He gave another small laugh before he rested a finger on his cheek.

-Hm…it didn't hurt that much…-

--poke!—

"OW!"

-Oh crap. Here comes the pain…-

-Maybe he shouldn't have poked it that hard…-

"…owww…"

-Dammit. He didn't even poke it that much!! Just once!! And now, wave after wave of pain was coursing through his…mouth? Cheek?? GAH! The pain was already overwhelming his head!!-

Kaname turned to his side, facing the back of the couch. He curled himself up in a 'sleeping kitty' position. It was all purely on instinct, since he used to sleep like this before.

He tentatively put a hand to press against his cheek, seeing as the pain had faded…all too quickly, it may seem…

"Ow!!"

Oh. There it was. Pain.

Pain.

Painnnnnn…

It got worse too, when Kaname accidentally bit down on his own teeth (you know, the normal bite position). The aching was like a flash of lightning that ran through the rows of his teeth.

He sat up, rubbing his cheek tenderly. He should have to be more careful from now on… (-wub, wub…-) (A/N: Aww! He's adorable!! …And his cheeks are flushed too…)

But it seemed the throbbing sensation was the least of his worries…

…because Kaname was hungry now.

…really hungry.

--

(Night Class)

No one was paying attention in class today.

And they all have a very good reason not to.

Whispers pass through the vampire students' lips like simple air does when they breathe. They weren't malicious talks, of course, but simple musings on what had happened to their dorm leader.

And in the field of 'Kaname-ism', no other people were as well-versed as Aido and Ruka.

Ruka had little to say of the matter. She only noted that Kaname-sama must be tired and overworked from a meeting. Possibly another campaign for the pacifism. They all had better follow Kaname's example, Ruka said. When one student dared ask "We should hit our head on the gate…?", the pale-haired teen flashed a glare that was so venomous it froze the smart-mouthed vampire on his seat.

Aido, on the other hand, was still marveling at what happened. He was not happy about Kaname getting hurt, of course, but he was one of the few that duly noted something specifically important (well, to a crazed fan yes).

"Akatsukiii… he was the most adorable shade of pink…"

Kain sighed. He'd been listening to his cousin ramble on and on about Kaname's face for an hour now and he's practically memorized every line.

"We should have our room re-painted that color, ne, Akatsukiiii…??"

"…Hanabusa…"

"I'm sorry I'm late. Kaname wouldn't be coming today. He is…busy."

Everyone turned to look at Ichijou, who was indeed late. The teacher nodded at him dismissively and told him to take his seat, which, for today, was beside Shiki.

As soon as the blonde took his seat, he noticed the sudden hush coming over the others. They were all looking at him curiously. Finally, Ruka's voice floated over them, voicing out most of the Night Class' queries.

"How is Kaname-sama, Ichijou?"

The blonde blinked and flashed that megawatt smile, "He's fine, Ruka. It seems…the meeting took a lot out of him, but he's resting as we speak."

Most of the vampires gave a satisfactory 'ah' at the stated 'reason'. They heard Ruka mumble something like 'I told you so' before the class settled into reasonable silence like always.

Shiki looked at his seat mate and quietly noted, "You smile weird when you lie, Ichijou."

The hand holding out a pen fumbled and the writing implement landed with a 'clack!' on the floor below. The sleepy brunette took it and gave it back to its befuddled owner.

"W-What did you say??"

Beautiful but half-lidded glassy light blue eyes (2) looked back at him.

Ichijou swallowed a lump that was forming in his throat. Shiki always knew how to spot him lying. It was so…strange. Maybe it's because they've spent so many moments together, being room mates and all that-

-_Don't you mean…Senri-kun?-_

The blonde twitched. WHY was he remembering Kaname's taunt NOW, of all times??

"Ara, Ichijou…You're going to break that pen in half if you keep holding it like that. Here, let me help…"

Shiki put his hand over Ichijou's own. The grip on the poor pen loosened considerably…but Shiki still wasn't letting go…

"Uh…Shiki…it's…ok…You can let go now-"

"…No."

Ichijou blinked, "Eh?"

Oh darn! Shiki just HAD to flash that winning model smile at Ichijou!! Nooooooo…

And indeed, Senri Shiki smiled at the blonde (though it was duly noted it seemed more like a smirk).

"I like holding your hand like this…" A whisper, "…Takuma-kun."

Inwardly, Ichijou's mental state crumbled into dust and what looked like a chibi version of him (his conscience, actually… :P) was yelling it's cute little chibi-head off…

-WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!-

(Moon Dorms…Kitchen)

Kaname stared at the inside of the refrigerator. It seemed that it was pretty well-stocked, which was good because he was particularly starving right now.

Psh, not for human blood.

Right now, he needed something a bit less substantial and easier to get at hand.

…He grabbed an apple.

Casually seating himself in front of the ref, he glanced at the nearby window which gave an interesting and a medium-length view of the 'woods' outside (A/N: the kitchen was on the first floor). Tonight, the moon was full, giving the outdoors an eerie glow.

The brunette sighed. It was moments like these that make him glad he could excuse himself from class for whatever reason.

The others were missing out on a beautiful moon…

-bite!-

A twitch.

…

"OW!"

--

(Outside)

Zero yawned openly. He would never admit it to Yuuki, but he was getting tried from all this patrolling. However, he couldn't let the girl patrol on her own. She gets into all sorts of sticky situations. It was almost like she was a magnet for trouble, or something…

"Kzzzt! Brown Bunny to Broody Puppy! Do you read me, Broody Puppy?"

The silver-haired teen twitched and grabbed hold of what looked like a walkie-talkie. He held it up to his face, "…Can't we just use our REAL names, Yuuki? This is stupid-"

"Kzzzt! No it isn't!! I think it's cute!! Brown Bunny to Broody Puppy, any accidents so far? Over."

Zero sighed now. He really shouldn't have agreed to this idea in the first place. It was downright childish.

"No. No accidents in the west part of the garden so far…"

"Kzzzzt! ZE-RO!! Use the codenames!!"

"No. I don't want to."

"Kzzzt! Ze-roooo…"

"…"

Zero looked at the small device. He sighed for the second time. If he didn't play along with this…well, he really didn't feel like fighting with Yuuki right now, especially after the Chairman found out about the whole 'smile' thing and was bent on getting as much 'updates' as possible from the Kiryuu…

"Kzzzt. Broody Puppy to Brown Bunny. West side all clear. Over."

Zero heard a squeal from the other line, followed by Yuuki's ever-cheerful voice.

"Waiii!! That was soooo cute, Zero!! Uh, this is Brown Bunny to Broody Puppy. I'll go finish up here in the East side. You go clear up the South. See you later!! Over."

The lilac-eyed teen trudged his feet to the south end of the school. Sometimes, Yuuki was just too weird…

He looked up and saw a light coming from the Moon Dorms. It was near the south side, so he wouldn't actually be guarding anything off-course.

Zero got into the bushes, since it was probably the only way to properly…uh…'check'. Yeah, that's it. Check—

-Check, my foot. You're spying, that's what you're doing…-

-Oh, hello little voice in my head. Long time no see.-

-Hi. Miss me?-

-Miss-…? Ugh, greaaaaaat…I am SO going insane…-

-Heh. Learn to live with it, bud- Oh LOOKY!! KANAME IN THE SHOWER!!-

-Where??-

-Wahaha! You fell for that, didn't ya? …So you wanna see him in a shower?-

-WHAT?? NO. I WANT TO SEE HIM DEAD.-

-Hm, well, you know what they say—Hate is just a line away from LOVE.-

-Grr. Just shut up will you??-

-Oh looky!! It's Kaname in an adorable pained pose, staring at an open refrigerator!!-

-Hah! I'm NOT falling for that again!!-

-Baka. It's true. Look over there-

Zero, on cue with…the little voices inside his head…looked at the direction of the lighted glass window. Inside, he did see the Night Class dorm president staring at the open ref. He was holding his cheek and had an adorable look of …longing on his face.

The silver-haired teen crept in closer to listen in on anything, if anything WAS being said.

…THAT, or Kaname just looked too adorable to pass up.

Before Zero could correct himself on that past thought, he heard the brunette speak.

"(sigh!) …I really wanted to eat that apple… but it was being so mean to me…"

Zero's eyes widened. Did…Did Kaname KURAN just say an apple was being mean to him?? And in an adorable kiddish voice??

Ok, so maybe NOT in an adorable kiddish voice…but it would've been cuter if he did…

"I guess I'll just have to eat this pudding…"

Zero peeked again and saw Kaname slumped over the kitchen table, poking the dessert maliciously.

"Who knew I will have to endure the same suffering I handed out a long time ago?"

The teen in hiding smirked. Kuran was being a total drama queen, and he had a front row seat to watching it all happen.

"If only it wasn't aching that badly…" Kaname rubbed his cheek again and sighed.

'WHAT was aching badly?' Zero blinked. It must have been some device of great magnitude to have managed in hurting THE Kaname Kuran. He should find out what it was, at all costs. Who knows, this might just be a breakthrough for all-

"Kzzztt!! Brown Bunny to Broody Puppy!! Do you read me?? Over."

Zero practically jumped when the walkie-talkie buzzed to life. And with Yuuki's high pitched and loud voice too. …This wasn't good…at ALL. He had to make a run for it-

-The windows opened with a 'whoosh!'…

"Zero…? What are you doing here?"

--

XD

Le third chapterrr, le finis!!

Wahaha!! That was some wonky French…

NOTES: (1)- Ok, mini-Japanese honorifics lesson here!! Usually, only people who are extremely close to each other can call each other by their first names. And the '-kun' part kinda denotes being lovers… fufufufu… Ok, so maybe I just made that part up, but HEY, it's cute, ne?

(2)- Does anyone really know what Shiki's eye color is?? I had to browse through random pics for this info. If anyone could tell me his real eye color, it will be much appreciated! :D

And sooooooooooo we have come to the part where I tell y'all to review…

Please review!!

If blood is to vampires, reviews are to fics!!

Then please feed my fic life-nourishing reviews!!

(so it can grow up to be a tall and pink fluffy monster that devours tall buildings and… FLAMERS!! Yeah, flamers!! XD)


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Subtle left-over pain of braces (upper part), yes. Vampire Knight, no. More pain coming in two days, yes. (T.T I have to come back to the dentist and have the lower part attached. Oh joy. Oh rapture.)

But anyway, I would like to note and acknowledge all I could acknowledge in my newly-refurbished THANKIES CORNER!!: (now has a table with freshly baked cookies! Yay!)

**kutoki – **Thanks for the equally cute comment!! And because you are my first reviewer, here's an extra-big cookie with chocolate chips in the shape of kitties!! (-if only I can really bake something like that-- :P)

**fruits-basket-girl94 – **Yep, you bet it does… Hm, just makes me wonder how I'll feel once I get both of those brace (up and down) on… Wah! No more french fries!! Or pizza!! Or food for, that matter!! O.O (innerself: shut up, doofus. You're overacting…again.) But either way, thanks for the review!

**glozinga – **Well, third place isn't too bad! Here's a Zero plushie for the first two times you got here first. Hehe.. be careful with that plushie, though…It cries when you poke it too much…or hit its head repeatedly! :D And…Zero x Kaname? …Who told you that?? It was HIM, wasn't it?? (points accusingly at the plushie, which just flopped to the side) XD

Yeah, well…that was actually my hidden motive here…hehe…but I get sidetracked sometimes…but the main pair I'm vying for IS KanZe so… DUDE! You're so freakin' psychic!!

**kitcherie – **Yeah, I get your point. Kaname—hot, mysterious. Cute…? Well, maybe it's just a side of him we never get to see much often…or make that AT ALL. Maybe that's what makes writing this story sooooooooo much fun. :D

**Saga** – Thanks for the correction! I basically just put that '-kun' thing there because it sounded cute (lol). I'll try to make this chapter longer. (fingers crossed) :D

**Xx.Fma-Dnangel.xX**** – **Thanks! Aw, here comes that wuved feewing again… :3

**Faydora – **Yay! Another braces comrade!! We're a trio now! We just need a few more to be a mob! XD

**freya kurenai – **Wow. When did THIS get here?? Did you perhaps reviewed when I was out for my piano lesson?? Sowwy, fowgot to tell youuu… hehe… :3 Thanks for the…uh…data sheet. And what was with that comment on Kaname's? I DID look into a mirror. All I saw was…perfection (-twinkle, twinkle-). XD XD XD wahahahahaha!!

--

Whoosh!

…Zero could only hope he could disappear as fast as the sound of the windows opening did. Or maybe, that he was invisible. Or probably dead. Yeah, dead, so would not have to endure the painful humiliation of-

"Zero…? What are you doing here?"

-being ultimately and dreadfully CAUGHT.

The silver-haired teen gulped.-'Don't say anything rude, Zero. It will only make your situation worse…'-

Zero turned around with that annoyed look on his face, "Since when did you have the right to call me by my first name, Kuran?"

Well, Zero wasn't really one to listen to his own conscience. Maybe that was the reason why he's such a…bastard.

Kaname's slightly amused face turned dreadfully cold. Like a switch was being turned on (or off, I really don't know…), the pureblood's face gave way to an almost cruel and uncaring smirk, "You have some guts disrespecting me here in my grounds, Kiryuu."

A moment of tense silence followed, disrupted only by the whispers of the wind.

The silver-haired teen turned, now no longer willing to prolong his stay. What on earth did he think he was doing, anyway??

…Zero had totally forgotten who he was talking to. He was frightfully reminded when he turned, he saw a few inches from him a pair of glowing red eyes.

"I do not tolerate rudeness, Kiryuu. …And have you forgotten-"

Zero's right gun hand was pulled, leaving him in a particularly tight situation.

"-Yuuki isn't here to protect you from me."

Said hand was now pulled painfully to his back, joined by the other hand, and the pureblood's face was mere inches from the side of his neck.

Zero felt his heart race. He felt like prey, clutched within the powerful talons of an eagle. And just like that prey, Zero had the strange feeling he was going to be squeezed lifeless in a few more seconds…

Kaname relished the smell of the boy's fear, then opened his mouth to bite down on his gorgeous flesh. But just before his fangs could even touch Zero's skin, the lovely implements in the vampire lord's mouth rebelled. It seems 'they' have a soft spot for broody puppies like Zero and took it upon 'themselves' to rescue trapped animals. Preferably cute animals. With silver hair and soft lilac eyes.

"Ow!"

The brunette stumbled back a few steps, clutching the side of his face. The pain reverberated, almost as if it was saying 'Bad Kaname!! Baaad!! You shouldn't do that to Zero-kun!!'

…Well, the braces win this round.

Kaname had disappeared into the darkness, leaving Zero to recuperate and check for any injury. His arms were just a bit sore, and that was the only problem so far. Oh, and his heartbeat wasn't slowing down. At ALL.

-Lub-dub…-

'Damn. Quiet down, will you?? Why are you beating so fast anyway?? I've had worse vampire encounters than this…'

-Lub-dub…-

'…'

-Lub-dub…-

'…maybe…it's because this is the first time it's happened with Kaname…'

-Lub-dub…-

'…'

-Lub-dub…-

'Oh…good… Ugh. I sound just like those lovesick and annoying girls from the Day Class…'

-Lub-dub…-

'…better shake this off. Yikes. (1)'

-Lub-dub…-

Zero walked off, autumn-dried leaves crunching underneath his shoes. He was awfully confused. And he was a bit afraid that if his heartbeat did not slow down, he might die from it.

…

The night was already deep. The moon glowed like a giant buoyant ivory-colored balloon in dark but smooth-as-glass water. The air was chilly, anticipating winter time.

…

A few more leaves crunched underneath the weary Hunter's feet. Soon, even that noise was gone.

The night was still once more.

--

(Kaname's room)

He was there again, lying on his back on the couch, a hand draped over his face.

There he was again, dreadfully in pain. Dreadfully…confused?

Well, that WAS to be expected.

He had walked away from what could have been an excellent meal—

'Meal?? What--… I should be above those kinds of thoughts…' Kaname stared seriously at the ceiling.

He was, after all, a pureblood. Revered, honored, loved by everyone—

'…except Zero Kiryuu, it seems.'

The brunette regretted that amused scoff just as soon as it came out from his lips. Why was he so interested in the boy anyway? True, he was vital part of his plan. Of everything. But…

A finger came to rest on the pureblood's lips in a sultry thinking pose.

'Maybe…it was because…Zero was so…adorable.'

Kaname laughed but this was cut short by another sharp pain from his lovely molar bands. Instead, he contented himself with a quiet smirk.

Zero…cute…

Zero…with puppy ears and a wagging puppy tail…

Oh, Zero…

…

It was strange, how his thoughts now centered on the often ill-tempered Hunter. It seems he had taken a strange liking to his 'sworn enemy'…

…

There was only one explanation.

…

THE DENTIST WAS DRUGGING HIM.

WITH A SPECIAL KIND OF DRUG THAT MAKES YOU SEE YOUR WORST ENEMY IN ANOTHER LIGHT AND MAKE YOU FALL IN LOVE WITH HIM.

Kaname sat up with a sudden jolt from his newly-acquired knowledge (XD). Tomorrow, when he comes back for another appointment, he was SO making the dentist have it.

How dare he drug him!

…

The night wind whispered, rustling leaves outside. It almost seemed like the air was whispering sweet nothings into the night. Or maybe, just maybe, the wind was laughing. Not a cruel laugh, but a jokingly sweet one it showers upon confused hearts that are undeniably in love.

--

(Kaname's room…a few hours later)

"…Kaname? Are you awake?"

Ichijou stepped in cautiously, looking around for any sign of life, or movement, or a once-sane- but-now-deranged dorm president driven by pain.

Seeing none of those things, the blonde advanced to see Kaname asleep on his favorite couch.

With a sigh, Ichijou settled somewhere near the brunette's feet, pushing them aside gingerly. "I had the most interesting class today."

Kaname's head turned to the side.

"Shiki…he was sitting beside me today."

The pureblood's chest heaved up and down in a gentle rhythm.

"He…said some things…"

The hand lying on the top of the back of the couch sagged and then completely disappeared behind the black back of the couch.

"I wouldn't normally tell you such delicate details, but seeing as you're-"

-A glance at the sleeping pureblood.

"—preoccupied, I would say it."

Ichijou took a deep refreshing breath and spoke in a considerably quiet tone, "He…said he liked holding my hand-"

Kaname bolted upright, smiling devilishly, "He did?"

It took all of the blonde's self-control to not smack the other's head, seeing as Ichijou was a master of self-defense and would practically hit anything that moves abruptly…and that Kaname had tricked him. Again. For the… fifth time since they met. The other four times were pretty acceptable, seeing as they were children and Ichijou had not yet known the secrets of some random magic tricks you can do with a hat, an egg, and a match…but THIS. This was different.

Kaname was laughing at the nonplussed look on his friend's face. He really got him GOOD this time…

"…" Ichijou stood up, probably incidentally letting the brunette's feet plop down unceremoniously on the floor.

"W-Wait, Ichijou…It's just that I couldn't resist—" Another laugh.

The blonde walked over to the door, not even glancing back once.

"I knew you wouldn't probably tell me, so I did this—"

A hand touched the doorknob.

Kaname sighed, having taken in his sufficient amount of air, and walked over to his obviously ruffled friend. He comfortably settled his arms around Ichijou's waist and rested his chin on the blonde's left shoulder.

"You know I was just playing around, right?"

Ichijou did not move, nor did he look, nor blinked. Kaname's boyish tone floated to his ears like a soft whisper of the wind. Nevertheless, he said nothing.

"I'm sorry. …I was just playing around… You know I can't do that often…"

A sigh.

Well, the blonde couldn't help but agree on that one. This was probably one of the reasons why Kaname trusted him so much. It was because, around him, the noble could just be himself. Normal. Well, as normal as a teenaged vampire could be. Out in the world, Kaname was different. He was formal, dignified, and mysterious. Even to Ichijou, most of Kaname's life remained a mystery. But he was glad to have witnessed the brunette loosening up. At least a bit. Even for a while…

"Fine. I forgive you."

Kaname smiled, and Ichijou felt it. A quick thankful peck on his cheek was received by the blonde. A sign of gratitude. It was so childish…it was charming.

…It almost brought back such precious memories of their childhood (2).

"So…what's this about you and Shiki…?"

The blonde's smile faltered a bit now. Kaname had settled back on his couch in his relaxed but amorous pose, a smirk on his face.

"I just told you. …He just said he liked holding my hand…"

"And how did he say it? Did the whole class hear him?"

Ichijou looked disbelievingly at Kaname. How. Could. He. Even. Think. Of. Such—

"NO, the whole class did NOT hear it!! Shiki's not that…vulgar!!"

"…but, you've got to admit, he was 'vulgar' enough to hold your hand in plain sight of the whole Night Class…" Ah, a smirk that rivaled the Cheshire Cat's…if only the Cheshire Cat could smirk.

"NO ONE saw it!! Everyone was busy reading!!"

Kaname blinked at the now-pink and huffing Ichijou chibi, "Fine, fine… but how did he compliment you? Did he just say it like that or—"

"Does it even matter?? … … He just whispered it in my ear—"

"Ah, whispering sweet nothings, eh? Definitely amour."

The blonde was red now. He twitched at the evil little French word, and at his evil little friend who was still smirking.

Deciding he has told him enough (there was no more to tell anyway…:3), Ichijou turned for the second time and approached the door. Midway, though, he stopped and glanced back.

"You're lucky I don't tease you about YOUR secret love, Kaname. If you continue pushing my buttons like this, I just might tease YOU next time."

A flash of that trademark 'Ichijou smile'…

…and he was gone with a quiet click of the door.

It was Kaname's turn to stare disbelievingly at the now-closed door.

His secret love??

What kind of a 'secret love' was this that even HE did not know??

…

That dentist's drug was GOOD. So good, in fact, that it even got Kaname into a state of temporary amnesia.

…

He was SO killing him tomorrow.

--

(Next Day, Dentist's Office, Kaname's Appointment)

"We'll put in the top part of the braces first. Is that ok with you, Kaname-sama?"

"Oh. Sure."

-Evil manipulator.-

Miko, the dentist, turned to grab hold of a nearby container with a roll of wire. He placed it on his little dental table where Kaname got a good look at it.

"Ano…Enju-sensei… I have a question about those strange medicines you put in my mouth—"

The blonde dentist blinked and turned around, holding another box with different-colored bands, "Strange medicines…?"

"Yes. The ones that make me act all weird."

He set down that box too, "I…didn't put any strange medicines in your teeth, or on your mouth for that instance, Kaname-sama… I didn't even used anesthetic."

Kaname blinked, "Then why am I acting so weird?"

Miko smiled, "It must be hormones."

"…Hor…mones…?"

A nod, "Yes. Now, can we start, Kaname-sama?"

Kaname was too stunned by the 'revelation' that he could do nothing but nod. And open his mouth. And wait for his doom to start.

--

(Zero's room)

Zero stared at the ceiling, which was so interesting he had been staring at it for hours and hours on end.

He did not get any sleep last night. Again. For the third time this week.

The last time he slept was when he had a catnap in class. And he woke up just a few minutes into that 'sleep' because he dreamt that Kaname was there, doing all sorts of…'things' to him. It was a good thing he woke up pretty early into the 'dream', or there could have been DISASTROUS results.

…

He tilted his head to the side and stared out the window.

There was that bluebird. The one he saw in class the other day. The one had 'violent thoughts' with.

…

Zero got up and opened his window. He peered cautiously at the bird, careful not to spook it. The bluebird just looked at him curiously, and tilted its head to the side.

…

"Hi."

The bird blinked.

"Remember me?"

It cheeped a bit. 'Hm, smart bird.'

"I was the one thinking all sorts of bad things about you."

Zero thought the bird would fly away now, but it just stayed there, staring at him. 'Ok, so maybe this bird isn't so smart after all…'

Before Zero could say something else, another bluebird came out of a hole in the tree, on which there was the branch that the first bluebird was perching on.

The new arrival hoped up to the other. Together, they blinked at the Kiryuu.

Zero couldn't help but smile. "Hey, you got yourself a partner after all, huh?"

…

…But then, he just remembered.

A few hours ago, he had asked Toga about distinguishing bird sexes. Toga had bonked him on the head for asking such a stupid question, but Zero pressed on with it. Seeing as his pupil was really quite curious, Toga had told him of a technique to tell bird sexes apart. Now, he could do it by simply looking at the bird.

…

Zero looked at the first-perched bluebird. By the use of his newly-acquired knowledge, he found out 'it' was actually a 'he'.

…

He looked at the other now.

…

'No wait.'

…

'That can't be possible…'

…

'…Or could it??'

…

The birds perched on the branched nuzzled lovingly at each other.

…

Zero twitched.

He shut the window and ran back to his bed, burying his head deep into the pillow.

…His inner consciousness was screaming now…

'OMFG!! THOSE BIRDS ARE GAAAAAAAAAYYYYYY!!'

--

XD oh, that was FUN!!

Hope that was long enough for y'all!! I actually finished this in two(?) days so, YES, I am now wearing both the upper and lower part of my braces!! And guess what, the lower ones don't hurt as much as the upper ones did!! Yay!!

NOTES: (1)- XD got this one from High School Musical!! I just thought it would be funny if Zero said it…XD

(2)- O.O waaaaaaa… Why do I see Kaname x Ichijou?? Whyyyyy?? …Er, well…I really didn't mean it…but I could consider writing another fic for that because this one is KanZe (hopefully)!!

So, that's all for now, folks!!

Please review so I can keep this fic running!!

And an advanced SORRY if ever the next chapter is late!! School has started and I don't know when I'll be able to update!! :D

MINI CONTEST: Can anyone give me name ideas for our two, ahem , 'lover birds'? I plan on naming them by the next chapter. :D

TBC!!


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: GAH! It's pain time agaiiiiinnnn!! (-has just gotten her first adjustments-) Vampire Knight is property of Matsuri Hino, and not anyone else…sadly.

I am really sorry for being sooo late in my updating!! It's just that the college entrance exams are near, and I have to join this review center, and I have this piano lesson, and this Kaname x Ichijou one shot request, then this whole 'transforming into a vampire at night' thing—XD, ok, so the last part was a joke, but I REALLY am busy!!

Hope this chapter will make it up to you guys!!

Oh yes, one last thing: A big THANK YOU to **Saga**, who reviewed! I never got to send ya a pm coz you were using an anonymous account, or something…but thanks, nevertheless!!

--

'This…'

-Trudge, trudge…-

'…is pain…'

-Trudge…-

'…I would NOT wish…'

-Halt.-

'…on my WORST ENEMY.'

Kaname Kuran stared at the main Cross Academy gates. He stared, and stared.

The pain he felt was terribly INTENSE now. It made him want to pull these things out of his mouth and be rid of them, forever. But he feared (…wow, he actually feared now…) the pain that lovely removal would cause would end up killing him.

…Not like it wasn't killing him right -freakin'- now.

'Open.'

…

'Stupid gate.'

…

'Open.'

…

'Can't you see I'm in pain here??'

…

It seems Kaname was too annoyed by the pain that he forgot gates can't talk, and that if they did, they wouldn't be smart and telepathic enough to understand his thoughts.

…It seems he has also forgotten the word and action 'push'…

…or the fact that the Day Class inhabited the grounds at morning.

"Kyaa! Isn't that Kaname-senpai??"

"Oh, yes!! I think it is!!"

"Kyaaa!!"

"KANAME-SENP—"

…

What was the name of that tall broody black pillar again?

Oh yes.

Zero.

"…" A glare. Zero never did have to say anything. It brought so much more ice and venom if he never did. So when he says 'Cross that line and I'll make you cry', he was actually being merciful.

Anyway, back to the blocking…

He glanced at the stationary pureblood still on the other side of the gates. He blinked at him, and Kaname blinked back. Another blink.

…

"Ano, Kaname-senpai… the gate's not locked, you know."

…

The brunette stared at the giant piece of blockade that was the gate. He stuck out an arm and pushed it, tentatively. Like a curious five-year old touching a giant-sized block for the first time, you know, to see if it eats him or something.

Well, it seemed the gates did not like eating teenaged vampires.

The gates opened with a creak. Kaname got in…finally.

…

Zero stared. Kaname stared. Neither one of them was blinking.

…

"Kaname-senpai!"

Probably the only female specimen that could get past alive from Zero Kiryuu, Yuuki Cross, ran up to the two. She actually thought that they were fighting, or something. But when she arrived, they were just staring at each other.

…

Staaaaaaaareee…

…

Gah. She almost joined in too. Well, almost.

"Ah, let me help you get back to your dorm, Kaname-senpai."

The lithe brunette led the taller one towards the general direction of the Moon Dorms. Kaname, whose brain has been numbed by pain, could only be dragged by Yuuki (like a giant googley-eyed plushie :3).

Zero noted that his lovely rival had a little confused expression on, and that he was pink again.

'…lovely…?'

…

Zero twitched. Agh. The adjectives again.

…

But he had achieved another level of self-control now, all thanks to his new friends, Perrie and Pinkie (1), the gay bluebirds. He had learned that love takes on all forms, even in gay bluebirds, and that he should learn to accept love in all these forms and shapes.

…

…Learn to accept that he –himself- was gay?

…

NO WAY IN HELL.

…

All Zero did was open his mind to the possibilities. He would NEVER accept the possibilities himself, though.

Because that was SICK.

…and WRONG.

…

ANDTHEREWASNOWAYINREAKIN'HELLTHATKANAMEWOULDFALLFORSOMEONELIKEHIM.

…

Yeah.

Sick and wrong (2).

…

Satisfied by his 'completed' mental banter, Zero turned to head back to his class.

…But his feet seemed to have a mind of their own. Again. Again, several parts of his body have taken a mind of their own. What was Zero, anyway?? A rented apartment 'they' can control when 'they' want to??

Hm, but he had to admit, these were pretty good 'tenants'… pretty aggressive, too.

And so, Zero, well, that is, Zero's FEET made their way to the Moon Dorms to follow the two brunettes that make up practically the two halves of the Kiryuu's life, though he might not admit it.

…At least, not yet.

--

(Moon Dorms)

It was still early morning. Most vampires were just getting ready to hit the hay, some practically expensive 'hay', if I might add.

Kain was one of those vampires, unknowing of the 'ill fate' that was about to fall upon all of them, innocently preparing for bed.

He was going to step into the inviting confines of the bed when he noticed Aido straining his eyes from the streaming sunlight, desperately trying to see something on the grounds below.

"Hanabusa…you're going to fry your eyes if you keep doing that…"

"…"

"…" A sigh. "…Hanabusa."

Aido looked back at his cousin with big and pleading chibi eyes, "B-But Ichijou said Kaname-sama would be coming back around this time—"

Kain sighed yet again. Seriously, he was like his baby-sitter, or something…

The taller of the two pulled the blonde away from the window and collapsed with him on the fluffy bed. The two bounced around a bit before they settled, Kain on top of Aido, who was now frowning.

'Ok, so maybe baby-sitters don't really do this…'

"Hanabusa, we'll hear from him later, ok? Right now, you need to go to sleep."

"But Akatsukiiiii—"

It was just a small chaste kiss. Just something to make Aido shut up.

Kain distinctly remembered they used to do this a lot when they were younger. Well, a kiss meant nothing back then. Back then, they just thought it was a way to relate certain affections to each other. A way to relate a love that was none other than brotherly.

But Kain learned soon enough that a kiss had more meaning than what they were used to. After reading so many books, it's no wonder he knew… but he never did tell Aido what a kiss really meant. He wasn't being selfish, wanting to keep all Aido's kisses to himself. It's just that…he didn't want it to disappear. Those kisses…they were, what Kain thought, the bond that kept them together. He didn't want it to disappear. Also, it made him feel…complete, in some strange way.

Even up to now, Kain thinks Aido doesn't know.

Naïve, yes…but that is the way this certain vampire's head works.

Kain pulled away, seeing as he was the one most able to do so.

"…"

"…"

"…Listen…Hanabusa…I'm sorry—"

Aido put a finger to Kain's lips, effectively shutting him up, "No, you don't have to be sorry about anything…"

"No…you don't understand. It's…about something I've been doing all these years…"

"…" The blonde blinked, "You mean the kisses?"

"No, I meant the kisses--Wait, how did you--?"

The cool blue-eyed teen sat up, gently forcing Kain to sit on the bed. Now, they were both sitting and facing each other, "I knew. Even from when we were kids."

"…" Kain was speechless for a few seconds, before he managed a small, "Then why…"

"Because…I didn't want you to stop. It's selfish, I know…but—"

The gap between them was closed. This time, it wasn't such a chaste little kiss anymore. After a few seconds, they parted for air, both slightly pink not only from lack of oxygen but also for some other reasons.

...

Aido rested his head on Kain's chest, just like they did before when they were still kids. Kain rested a hand on the blonde's head.

…

"You know…this is forbidden." Aido's voice broke through the comfortable silence.

"I know."

"…"

Kain smiled warmly down at his adorable 'koi' (3), "I don't care."

Aido laughed, "Neither do I."

…

Well, it seems this was a good morning for some people after all.

--

(Moon Dorms…Hallway)

"Well, I have to go, Kaname-senpai. I think you can find your way from here."

Yuuki bowed at the pureblood and went away. She thought it would be pretty embarrassing to lead the dorm president to his own room. After all, that place was none of her business. Kaname should be 'well-informed' enough to know his own room.

…

Then again, what does Yuuki know about the pain Kaname's suffering from right now?

…

Kaname blinked at the now closed main door. He was in the main hallway. His room was upstairs. There was a flight of stairs conveniently to his right. Going back to his room SHOULDN'T be a problem…

Yeah…no problem at ALL…

-Step, step-

…

-Step, step-

…

'Wow. I might actually get through this.'

…

-Step, s-- THROB. THROB. THROBBBBB…-

Kaname twitched and placed a hand on his cheek. He felt that his cheek was warm, warmer than usual, just like the rest of him. But he's more focused on the pain right now, the throbbing pain that felt like all his teeth were being pulled off.

He let out an almost imperceptible whine.

…It looks like going back to his room wouldn't be so easy after all.

--

(Shiki and Ichijou's room)

"S-Shiki…!"

"Mmm…"

"Don't--!"

"Ichijouuuu…"

"Stop--!!"

"Mmmm…"

…

Ichijou tried, once again, to pry the other teen off of him.

He had only invited Shiki to sleep beside him because the brunette's bed was nothing short of a ripped mess (When they came back, they saw it at such condition already…Strange.). But now, it seems, Shiki has overstayed his welcome. The brunette was now refusing to let go of Ichijou's waist.

…and if Ichijou were to turn a darker shade of red, he would have certain medical complications that even the best doctors would never be able to cure.

"…But you're so warmmmm…"

"S-Shiki…!"

The blonde could only glance helplessly over at the door. He knew Kaname had arrived a couple of minutes ago and, judging from the screams he heard a while ago, Kaname wasn't exactly having a great time.

Ichijou made small 'reach-y' movements with his right (and only free) hand…not that it helped him in any way. He glanced down at the bundle of a teenaged vampire that was Shiki, who had now returned (miraculously) to sleep.

…He had to admit, Shiki DID look adorable when he slept like that.

…

…aww…

…

WAIT. What on earth was he thinking?? He had to get out of here!! Kaname needed him!!

"Mmm…stay… please…"

…Did Shiki just say 'please'?

Ichijou stared, disbelieving yet somewhat…soothed. He put a tentative hand on the brown mop of Shiki's hair and ruffled it quietly. It felt…funny but incredibly calming. And judging by the way Shiki snuggled closer to him, the other liked it too.

…

The blonde glanced back at the closed door.

'Sorry, Kaname. You're on your own for now.'

Ichijou sank down slowly back on to the bed. For once, sleeping during the day appealed greatly to him. He could actually feel himself growing drowsier and drowsier…

…

Pretty soon, the two were asleep.

The sunlight continued to filter through a gap in the curtains.

It was far from bothering the two, though.

Nothing could wake them up…

…Well, for now, that is.

--

(Side of the Moon Dorm building…near some….uh…plants)

Zero crept quietly through the bushes, forgoing the thought that he was 'spying' yet again on the mysterious Moon Dorms…and in broad daylight this time too.

Oh, the heck. He was already here anyway.

And if anyone asks, he'll say his feet made him go that way.

Yeah, his feet—

Speaking of which, why are they heading towards the back entrance of the dorms??

Zero thought he was just going to 'skulk' around the outside of the building, like before. After all, that did seem like the safest way to get through this—

…this…

…this…

…

Uh…this…

…scouting mission?

Ok, that sounds official, so he'll probably use that term too.

He was scouting because…uh…

KANAME WAS ACTING WEIRD AND HE HAD TO FIND OUT WHAT WAS WRONG WITH HIM BECAUSE IT MIGHT ENDANGER THE WHOLE DELICATE BALANCE IN CROSS ACADEMY.

Wow.

Yeah, that was a good excuse.

…

Zero carefully turned the knob on the door and opened it noiselessly. As expected, the hallway was empty. He could see right to the other end of the first floor, to the main front door. Luckily, no one was entering or leaving through that one.

The silver-haired boy walked in, his feet making no sound at all. Even though he knew that the vampires rarely get up at day, he still couldn't help but be incredibly careful. After all, these creatures (as he knew them from books and other valuable information –coughTogacough- ) had incredibly keen senses. They can literally hear a pin drop…if they were not out cold, of course.

Counting on the possibility that they were 'out cold', Zero continued to walk along the hallway.

He passed by a staircase, then another. So far, there was no one…

"Owww…"

Oh, he knows that pained whine from anywhere.

Zero peered at the last flight of stairs before the main front door. As he had expected, Kaname Kuran was there, leaning against the wall, a few steps already up the stairs.

The brunette was clutching his head, eyes shut.

Taking careful note of that, Zero stepped out of the shadows and approached him, quietly, of course. You know, just to have a closer look—

"Ugh…"

Kaname felt a strong surge of vertigo overcome him. He lost control of his body and came crashing down, down…

…on Zero.

The silver-haired one fell back a few steps, but immediately regained control of his body and that of the person he was currently supporting.

It turns out Kaname wasn't as heavy as he thought he was.

Probably because he was a vampire and all that--

WAIT.

KANAME HAD PASSED OUT.

He HAD to get him back up to his room before things could get…hairy and utterly confusing.

Slinging the brunette's arm over his shoulder, Zero managed to haul Kaname upstairs to his room. It was a good thing he was quick too, since just as he closed the door with his foot, he heard a door opening in the hallway.

…Zero would bet a hundred bucks that the person who just opened the door was Aido. That blonde had, like, 'super senses' or something when it came to finding Kaname.

Oh yes, speaking of Kaname—

The violet-eyed teen laid the pureblood gently on the bed. Zero pulled back and stared at his 'handiwork'.

Kaname was lying with a hand on top of his stomach, his head tilted to the side. The other arm was carelessly strewn across the width of the bed's deep red silk covering.

To Zero, the sanest thing to do was to leave, preferably through the window. After all, he had somewhat accomplished what he came here for, if not, at least accomplished a good deed. He should leave…like, right now…before anyone sees him…

…

Zero leaned in on the sleeping brunette. This was almost as close as when Kaname almost bit him the other night…but this time, there was no tension in the air. And it was Zero who was leaning in, not Kaname.

With him being so close, Zero could make out cute little features that he normally didn't see.

Kaname had beautifully long eyelashes… He also had smooth and pale skin… His mouth was curved into a slight frown, probably his lips' rest position… His nose was adorably slender and high-bridged…it didn't look pointy, though…it actually looked, well, perfect, just like the rest of him…

Zero bent down a bit too much and ended up touching Kaname's forehead with his.

Kaname's forehead felt…warm. Too warm.

…

The silver-haired teen pulled away abruptly.

Kaname had a fever, a very high one too. If someone doesn't do anything—

Zero glanced at the window. From there, he could see the bluebirds, watching him curiously. But to Zero, they looked like they were waiting for him to make a move, a decision.

…

Zero looked back at Kaname.

This was probably going to kill him…but he can't leave the brunette like this at all.

…

Looks like Zero has to 'play' nurse…at least for a while.

…

Perrie and Pinkie looked at each other, then looked back at Zero, who was now preparing some things.

The gay (in more ways than one…) bluebirds chirped, almost as if cheering the silver-haired teen on…

--

WHEW! Chapter 5, up!!

SO SORRY for the long delay!! I have been soooooooooooooo incredibly busy!!

NOTES:

(1)- Ding, ding ding!! We've got a winnah!! Thanks to **freya kurenai** for the name ideas!! Hehe…and we both know what those names really mean, ne? Yay for jellybean babies!!

(2)- Wahahahaha… another ETC. CORPs. reference!! Hehe… These are actually me and my friend's uh…codenames! She's 'sick' and I'm 'wrong'…though I do hate the negative connotations of it all…

(3)- Ok, first note: KAIN SMILING IS TOTAL HAWTNESS. Second note: 'koi' here refers to an affectionate term of 'lover'. Not the fish, k?

Sorry again for the incredibly long delay!! I have a feeling I'll be waaaaaaaayyyy more busy this coming week but I'll try to update as soon as I can!!

Wish me luck!! :D

P.S. Why is it that I rarely see VK yaoi goodness??

Well, just so you know, this fic IS yaoi. I –heart- yaoi. :D

Please review!! :D


	6. Author's Note

Hey y'all!!

I just want to tell everyone that—

Kaname: I knew it. Zero IS gay.

Zero: W-WHAT THE HELL??

Me: Uh, no. I came to tell everyone that—

Zero: IT'S KANAME WHO'S GAY!!

Kaname: (appalled --drama-queen-- look)

Zero: SEE!! He's being all gay about it!!

Kaname: That was just my polite shocked face, Zero.

Zero: AHA! You did it again!!

Kaname: Did what again?

Zero: Called me by my first name!! And you never do that unless you're—

Kaname: (raises an eyebrow) Let me guess… gay?

Zero: YES!!

(stunned moment of silence)

Kaname: You…are so…desperate, are you?

Zero: Desperate?? Who are you calling desperate??

Me: …I think I can hear Zero panting from here. He really shouldn't scream so much…

Zero: SCREAMING?? WHO THE HELL SAID I WAS SCREAMING?? (twitch, twitch)

Me and Kaname: …

Zero: (twitch)

Me: Uh, Kaname…I think he needs…you-know-what.

Kaname: Oh. Yes, I think he does.

Zero: … … … … You…Know…What…? … AHA!! THAT'S……………. OMFG! YOU'RE CONSPIRING TO RAPE ME!! O.O

Me: Say wha-?

Kaname: (pulling a hyperventilating Zero away)

Me: Riiiiiight… ANYWAY:

I am currently swamped with school work these past couple of weeks. And with my exams coming up, I'll get even more swamped!! But rest assured that Vampire Braces will be updated after at least two more weeks.

I'm REALLY SORRY for keeping all of you waiting, but I have to get my priorities straight, 'kay?

…and as for that piece with Kaname and Zero…well, things happen when you're faced with the computer… Honestly, this was supposed to be a short note!

Again, SORRY for the long wait!! Expect me in a couple of weeks!!

Who knows, I might post a double chapter!! (wink)

Ja ne! :D


	7. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Ok, here I was complaining I had sooooo much to do…and then- BAM! I got hit by my schedule!!...which, it turns our, wasn't so cramped after all. He, he, he…?

Unless someone from you guys knows how to do voodoo or something, Vampire Knight will never belong to me--er-- the public.

(sigh!) Now, if only Matsuri Hino-sama appreciates yaoi… (deeper sigh…)

But enough of that!! The computer is on, our internet is down-- which means I can't procrastinate any longer!!

Time to make some KanZe loving happen (and maybe some other things on the side)!! (-a flag that says 'yaoi' is being waved behind her as a sparkling display of fireworks are set off-…Man, I do love those fireworks!...Now, if only they were less noisy and frightening…) :D

--

Perry blinked at his partner, who blinked back.

…It seems just like yesterday they met each other on that branch on the tree…

It was love at first sight.

…and Perry didn't even care if Pinkie was a guy bird too…

Ah, love.

Love can definitely overcome anything.

…

Perry snuggled up to his partner, who was watching the Kiryuu boy intently. Having felt the obvious 'quest' for affection, Pinkie nuzzled back.

They remained like that…

…until Zero broke something probably expensive and made of glass which made a small ruckus.

As Zero swore quietly to himself while picking up the broken shards, he glanced up and saw the contented birds. He wouldn't admit to himself but…he was a bit jealous of them. They were happy little things, honest with their feelings.

…

He really wished he could be like them…

No, not a bird. No, not blue either.

…

…Just…gay.

(XD)

Zero was snapped back from his wishful thinking when he accidentally pricked his finger on a glass shard. Warm blood oozed from the wound and made a small line of red towards his wrist. He stared at it, watching the blood drip and make not-so-intricate patterns on his hand.

Yes, he knew he was acting totally weird…but the redness of blood really appealed to him…

'GAH!'

Zero twitched and pulled away from his 'demonic' gaze on his own finger.

Really, his turning into vampire had been nothing short of weird. He already hated himself so much for becoming such a beast, but now his own weirdness is starting to really, really get to him--

--Suuuuuuuuuckkkk…--

The silver-haired teen almost jumped on to the ceiling-- if only Kaname wasn't latched on to him like that…sucking on his finger…

WAIT.

HE WAS--

…

Satisfied, Kaname returned to his calm state of unconsciousness, head drooped on Zero's shoulder.

Oh. Great.

Just great.

…

It turns out that Kaname, even in his state of deep sleep, can sniff out blood and its source from miles away. And that he acted more like a 'blood vacuum-slash-tracking device' too.

…

Not that it wasn't adorable, really.

…Just mildly freakish.

But then again, who was Zero to say that. After all, wasn't he staring at his bleeding finger a while ago? Wasn't he suicidal, even willing to go to the point of killing his own brother and ending the life of his lover and rival through a climatic end that would most likely involve a lot of blood and a fit of explosive lust, scattered red rose petals fluttering in the breeze—

WAIT. (again X3)

'LOVER and rival?? Red rose petals??'

WHERE the HELL did that come from??

'…fit of explosive LU--…'

…

Zero didn't even want to finish that sentence anymore, even if it was just inside his head.

He honestly felt…disturbed and disgusted. How on earth could he think of such things?? He was STRAIGHT damn it! S-T-R-A-I-G-H-T!!

…

'--Yeah, _straightly _gay.--'

'Oh, hello, little voice in my head. We meet again.'

'--Who said I ever left you, Ze-ro-chan?--'

'…Dammit. Just leave me alone already!! My life's complicated enough, even without you bothering my life…'

'--Nope. I can't leave you. We have an agreement, remember?--'

'Oh, you mean the useless one about 'the fulfillment of my heart's desire'?? Well, THAT's not going to happen any time soon!!'

'--…--'

'HAH! I made you shut up!!'

'—You know what, you're right.—'

'Double HAH! I told you so.'

'—Because how on earth do you plan on fulfilling your heart's desire if your heart's desire dies right there in your arms with a high fever?—'

'You bet you're-- WHAT??'

FINALLY turning his attention to Kaname's prone figure resting on his shoulder, Zero felt the surge of panic that must have been waiting for the most appropriate 'go' signal. Truly, his body must be a little orchestra, with the evil little conscience serving as the conductor.

The silver-haired one chose to ignore the smugness of said conscience right at that moment and instead focused on the –thankfully- still sleeping pureblood. He placed him gently back on the bed and paced around a few more times before deciding to grab a small basin and put some warm water in it from the adjacent bathroom. Then he soaked a small towel in it before placing said towel on Kaname's forehead. Zero read from somewhere that this was supposed to lessen the severe warmness of the sick body.

Well, in a normal human fever, that is.

Kaname must had some kind of supernatural temperature because the towel seemed to dry almost instantly when Zero put it on him. And the small puff of steam did NOT help Zero's composure at all right now.

Deciding that a good amount of pacing would help him think, Zero got off the bed and started walking back and forth.

Well, Toga didn't exactly tell him how to take CARE of vampires, did he? All he taught him was how to get rid of the bloodsuckers. And, in fairness, that was easier. A whole LOT easier.

Zero's delicate silver eyebrows knitted. He glanced at the door.

He could seriously go for Ichijou's help right now. He really didn't care if the Night Class found him here with their beloved Dorm President. At least THEY would know what to do with Kaname's condition.

…

Speaking of Ichijou…

Where on earth was he??

If Aido had 'super Kaname-tracking senses', then shouldn't Ichijou have, like, 'ultra super Kaname-tracking senses'?? After all, weren't they friends from long, long, looooong (-Zero was judging this my vampire years.-) time ago?

Darn it.

He could REALLY use his help right now…

--

Perry blinked at Pinkie.

And, as if they had some sort of mental connection (A/N: I seriously think they do.--;), Pinkie chirped and flew down the tree and on to a much lower branch, Ichijou and Shiki's room coming into full view.

The two were still huddled in bed, eyes closed in blissful sleep. Shiki looked like he was dreaming of all kinds of good things, judging by that (--smirk..?--) smile he had on his face. Ichijou, on the other hand, was hugging the sheets closer to himself. He was shivering in the most uncommon way, obviously having a not-so-great dream. At all.

Pinkie tilted his head to the side and chirped something up at Perry, who just blinked and chirped back.

It really was a shame that they can't see inside people's heads and figure out what they were dreaming about…

--

(…But that doesn't mean that you can't, dear reader. :D)

--

(Shiki's dream)

Shiki was in the land of milk, honey, and giant chocolate chip cookies.

I kid you not.

In fact, he was boating through the great sea of milk on his trusted chocolate wafer boat, rowing with his giant chocolate wafer stick. He was passing through amazing landscapes carved totally out of candy, colored sugar, and chocolate.

It was something out of a kid's fantasy and a dentist's nightmare.

Docking his marvelous…uh…boat, Shiki got out and on to the sandy sweet shores of a sugar beach (X3). Waiting for him there was a figure in a long flowing white sun dress.

"Shiki!"

They ran towards each other and met, encasing each other in a warm embrace.

"I missed you." The one in the dress placed a kiss on Shiki's lips, her(?) kiss sweeter than any kind of candy, in Shiki's opinion.

The brunette smiled fondly, "I missed you too…Ichijou."

(-cue either a sickly-sweet theme song here, or a horrified scream from some non-yaoi fan girl- XD)

--

(Ichijou's dream…er, nightmare)

If Shiki's dream was in technicolor, Ichijou's was in the coldest shades of blue and gray.

The blonde was recalling various moments in his childhood that mostly involved his grandfather. Sure, the dream started out great. After all, Ichiou wasn't quite that creepy in the past. In fact, he was Takuma's favorite grandfather…before Rido came and made things spin way out of control.

Now, Ichijou was reliving the 'kitchen memory', the one where he was called by his grandfather for a 'little talk' about his friendship with Kaname (1). This was the first of the many talks, it seemed, and probably the worst of them all.

"I want you to keep an eye on him, Takuma."

Ichijou was a kid again, seeing the scene in the 'best seat' in the house. Of course, he's memorized every line by now.

"Of course I will, grandfather. After all, Kaname's my friend."

CHOP!

The blonde still couldn't help but twitch uncomfortably as his grandfather chopped a poor plump tomato in half, the reddish-clear liquid staining the once-immaculately white chopping board (or at least Ichijou thought it was white, since everything was all gray and blue).

"…I just want you to stay with him, gain his trust."

"I already have his trust, grandpa, and he has mine…because we're friends--"

CHOP!

At that moment, Ichiou looked up from his…work. He was wearing a formal-looking shirt with slacks that were, as Ichijou guessed, as black as his soul. Over that, he was wearing a white apron. That would have been hilarious in itself, seeing the great Asato Ichijou wearing an apron and actually cooking, but the said apron was now streaked with vivid red.

For once, the bleak black-and-blue world finally gained another color…though Ichijou would have preferred that it didn't.

The red stains glared at him with ominous intensity, almost as strong and lasting as his grandfather's words.

"Trust me, Takuma. You were not meant to be friends at all."

'…_You were meant to kill him.'_

Of course, Ichijou knew those unspoken words. He read them clearly from his grandfather's eyes, and he couldn't help the tears that stung in his eyes.

Right then and there, Ichijou had made a resolve- He will become Kaname's greatest ally, not his greatest threat.

But Ichijou could not hold back the question ringing in his head…

'So you would betray your family, Takuma? Just for a mere friend? You would abandon those who took care of you and watched out for you even before this Kuran boy came into your life?'

'You're a _traitor_, Takuma…'

'Whichever side you choose, you'll always be a traitor, Takuma.'

'…A _traitor_.' (2)

--

(Back to reality…)

Ichijou whined. He was between the realms of sleep and awareness now, pulling closer and closer to the state of waking. He knew he was back, then, when he heard the calm breathing of Shiki and the shrill chirps of a couple of birds outside (--guess who?--). However, he could not fully ignore the tears now running on the sides of his face.

The blonde sat up abruptly and adopted a protective pose, his knees hugged close to his body, head buried in overlapping arms resting on top of said knees. Sobs racked his spine, uncontrollable and unstoppable.

He felt so…sick of himself.

He was filthy, nothing but a sick liar and a…

'_Traitor.'_

The word stung him as he thought of it and he buried his face deeper into the recesses of his arms. Now, if only they brought him any comfort…

Shiki was awakened by the sudden shifting in the bed. When he cracked an electric blue eye open, he was met with Ichijou in the fetal position with his back resting against the headboard.

The brunette immediately sat up and went over to his obviously disturbed friend.

"Ichijou..?" Pure worry laced Shiki's voice. The blonde's shoulders were shaking and the other gently put his hands on them to at least ease them for a while. He was facing the blonde now, who still had to face him.

"…Ichijou…?"

The blonde shook his head, trying to signify that nothing was wrong. Shiki was not going to fall for that, though.

Throwing all care and caution to the wind, the brunette encased the other in his arms. The warmth was very much comforting for Ichijou and he surrendered himself to it, laying his head on Shiki's chest.

Shiki rubbed soothing circles on Ichijou's back, remembering how this used to calm him down before when he was younger. His mother used to do this to him…his beautiful, but now broken, mother…

As the blonde pulled Shiki's warmth closer, the brunette pulled him closer as well. Those horrible memories were enough to make even Shiki shudder.

Two broken souls sought comfort in each other, the comfort they have found much more precious than anything else right now…their arms like cool healing balm to one another's bruised soul.

--

Pinkie blinked and chirped. He then flew back up and looked at his partner.

It seems the Ichijou is busy right now and won't be able to help. He had problems of his own to attend to.

--

Zero glared now at the emptying basin. He had been trying the 'cloth tactic' since a while ago and it was not working.

Now…what was that other thing you were supposed to do to a person with high fever?

…

Soup…?

…

No. That was not used to lower their temperature…

…

How about…a bath?

…

Zero looked at the still sleeping brunette. Before he could think logically, a dirty thought crept into his head and made his face flush an adorable shade of bubblegum pink. He slapped himself just to get the thought off.

Instead of going with the seemingly-'green' idea, Zero decided to try something a little… more logical.

"…Uh…Kuran…Hey, Kuran…"

The silver-haired boy nudged the pureblood gently with his hand on his shoulder. He figured if the other could wake up, then he could instruct him to take a cool shower and not have to end up embarrassing himself.

…

Ok, did he say this was a 'logical' idea?

Make that an 'INCREDIBLY STUPID' idea.

Zero couldn't let a sick man do that by himself, seeing his current situation!! Even if that man _was _Kuran Kaname, smug bastard extraordinaire (X3).

…

But…

…

Does he really have to…?

…

Zero glanced at the wide expanse of Kaname's body, his shirt in a bit of a disarray and therefore revealing more skin than was required.

…

Zero gulped what felt like a giant rock obstructing his throat and turned a deeper shade of pink.

…

Looks like he will have to do this after all.

…

May the heavens have mercy on his soul.

…

Zero would deny, to the ends of the earth and beyond, the happy little skippity-skip his conscience did with the thought.

Oh hell.

It was time to give Kaname Kuran a bath.

--

Wow, maaaannnn..that was long!! But, I can't say I didn't owe you guys… After all, I made you wait a looooooooooooong while!! Really sorry about that!

A big THANK YOU to all who reviewed! Sorry I didn't have the time to PM you all. You were just too many!! (-feel free to hit my over-inflated ego right now-) XD

Uh, right. Notes:

(1)- This was scene I made up. I really didn't know if they had that kind of talk, but I could tell that Ichiou wasn't really naturally evil.

(2)- Yeah. I didn't mean to bash Ichijou so much. I don't hate him! I actually think he's charming. I just got carried away because of my Kaname x Ichijou fic… hehe…gomen. :D

Wow. I didn't expect to put so much Ichijou x Shiki fluffiness in there at ALL. Maybe I'll focus on Aido x Kain next chapter.

And about the KanZe…

I'M TRYING TO DO IT AS FAST AS I CAN but the characters just seem to be sooooooo timid with my ideas!! Gah. This has to end. Seriously.

Well, at least there's a SHOWER SCENE next chapter!! XD

I can barely wait!!

Just like I can't wait for your reviews, dear and beloved readers!! :D


	8. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Oh. Hey. It's you guys. … this is awkward…

Innerself: Aren't you supposed to say something else in this corner??

Me:…uh… … … … I am?

Innerself: …Don't make me hurt you.

Me: I fake karate for a living!

Innerself: …(-sweatdrop-) This is a DIS-CLAIM-ER. Does that mean anything to you??

Me: Uh…it does remind me of the painful fact that I do not own Vampire Knight. Only Matsuri Hino-sama does.

Innerself: …well, at least that's done.

Me:…

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiight, anyway---

HUGS to all who reviewed, and a GIANT APOLOGY SIGN to all since I know it's already freakin' late and some of you have murdered a voodoo doll of me somewhere… at least I hope not since I am doing a special today!! It's called BLOCK UPDATING, which is just a fancy term for me updating more than one chapter at once…

I've babbled on for long enough (months, even). Here's what y'all came here for!!

Oh wait-- WARNING: some swearing ahead (-bad Zero---pokes the chibi--)…and some 'suggestive' scenes that can cause nosebleeds to some sensitive people…like me XD

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Water.

It makes up around 70 percent of the earth's surface.

It is the only state of matter that forms in visible three states on the earth's surface, namely:

Solid -- like the glaciers found in the Antarctic area

'…Yeah, I could use some glaciers right now, or even a small chunk of them, if they can help lower this bastard's temperature and not force me to--'

Liquid -- like the commonly seen sea water and ocean water

'… … … Water comes out from the shower, right? …Warm water if I spin this red-centered one and cold if I spin the blue-centered one…? … … Don't they have specially-made vampire temperature ones?? Can I even open these knobs at the same time?? What would happen then, huh??'

Gas -- like the invisible water vapor that makes up clouds once they accumulate in the higher regions of the troposphere

'… Lightning forms in the troposphere, right? … I wonder if it's too late to do a lightning dance…'

…

Kaname's body was warm against Zero's side. Even through the semi-thick layers of fabric they had on, he could still feel it… Which was BAD…VERY bad, indeed. And Zero was also trying to ignore the fact that the body next to him was getting warmer. Or the fact that a bit of an expanse of creamy skin was right in his reach--

-Ok. He did NOT just think about that…

Trying to distract himself, Zero looked around the enclosed shower stall. It was fairly big, simple but elegant. Well, he did expect nothing less for the Night Class accommodations, much less to their pureblooded prince…

Ok. So to start this off, he should probably check on his…uh…materials. Yuuki once told him it helped people not forget things. Zero, even though he did not look like it, had a certain knack in forgetting the most miniscule things. That didn't mean he needed a diary to remember the whole Shizuka incident though--

As if a switch had been turned on, Zero's stare at the pureblood hardened.

Why should he act so…concerned for this…this…_pureblood_ anyway??

Wasn't he the same kind as that woman who killed his parents, who took away his brother…that monster who ruined his life and tore it apart by the seams--

-That's because he's sick and he needs help right now. Your help.-

'……..'

-Just because their kind had been heartless to you does not give you the right to do the same to them…-

'…….'

-…Right???!!??-

'………'

-Uh…Zero…? Zeeee--rrrrrooo??? Hello??? THIS-IS-THE-VOICE-INSIDE-YOUR-HEAD. IS ANYONE HOME???-

'No. Because some monster like this one killed them all.'

-Oh. … … … there….you….are…-

Zero turned around, leaving Kaname's still fever-infused body semi-leaning against the cool shower wall.

-OI!! YOU JUST CAN'T LEAVE HIM ALONE!! HE'S SICK!!!-

'Damn right he is. He's wrong too, all of them…'

A blank and cold look had masked Zero's amethyst eyes. His heart throbbed painfully against his chest for reasons he thought he already knew. He's just remembering the hurt, the anguish he had to go through because of those damned purebloods. However, he never thought of the other reason why his heart felt constricted. He'd rather not think of that right now…

Just when he had formed what seemed like a stone-hard and unbreakable resolve to leave Kaname to his doom, Zero heard a small almost imperceptible whine.

"…Alice…? (1)"

Zero turned to find Kaname looking at him through half-lidded eyes. His breath came out in small puffs of steam, signifying how completely warm he was in contrast to the inside of the shower. His right arm was extended, hand reaching out almost desperately.

"Alice……don't leave…...."

The silver-haired teen stood, frozen in his place. Who the hell did Kuran think he was?? Maybe he was suffering from hallucinations because of the fever…That was bad…really bad…

Pulled from his thoughts, Zero heard an almost agonized breath from the brunette, followed by a shudder. Then he spoke in barely above a whisper.

"Don't…..Don't leave me here…. He'll…..come back… I don't want…..him to come…back…" Kaname wrapped his arms around himself, more of a protective gesture than that of seeking warmth. He continued to look at Zero with his blank and sickness-hazed eyes.

The Kiryuu's heart felt like it was getting squeezed even tighter still. Before he could stop himself, he walked back over to the brunette and leaned down. More out of worry than that of curiosity, he asked, "Who will come back?"

"………………that man....who said………he owns me….. (2)"

Zero's eyes widened. He felt a sickening knot form in the pit of his stomach. Who on earth would have been able to-- Who would even DARE, let alone a pureblood---

…

"You have a fever. Let's give you a shower so you'll feel better."

Zero's voice echoing in the shower stall sounded so strange to him, so foreign. Even those arms that gently helped Kaname up and eventually position him directly under the shower head seemed so weird. For a few moments, Zero felt that he was far from here, far from anywhere else.

It was utterly strange.

…

Then again, he never knew, did he?

It wasn't like Kuran flaunted it to the world.

But…who in their right mind would?

To show such weakness, such kind of fear…

It would mean death to him, to all his loved ones.

Maybe that was why Kaname kept quiet. He kept it all to himself because he wanted to keep everyone safe. And, maybe, also because he…was scared of anyone finding out.

…

Ironically, Zero felt the same way.

He never told anyone he was hurting inside, even thought at times he hurt so much he thought he could die.

Yeah, he wished a lot of times that he was already dead.

But he had friends- Yuuki and Headmaster Cross- though they get on his nerves sometimes.

They made him feel that he was wanted somewhere, that no matter what happened to him in the past, he could always try to get over it.

They gave him proper 'closure' with his issues.

…

Kaname, on the other hand, did not seem to have gotten the same thing. Seeing as how his past is still haunting him up to now, so strong that it is able to make itself felt through a single moment of his weakness…

Well, Zero might have done the same thing before but it never came as far as seeing hallucinations and calling people a name they're not.

…

A slight shuffle of clothes dragged Zero's consciousness back to inside the shower stall. Kaname had removed his shirt, letting the article fall carelessly to the tiled floor. It seemed like a natural occurrence now, that pink flush on Zero's cheeks. The tint darkened as the pureblood continued to strip before him, revealing expanses of milky white and unmarred skin…well, maybe except one part…

"What's that?"

Zero couldn't help but ask when he sighted what looked like the remnants of a nasty burn on Kaname's lower back. It looked strange and completely out-of-place on the pureblood's perfect body.

"It's that mark………the mark that says I'm his…." Kaname answered, his voice distant and absent of any emotion. He looked at Zero straight in the eyes, almost curiously. "Have you forgotten, Alice…?"

The silver-haired teen felt that sick twisting in his stomach again, but he also felt a bit of nervousness block his throat. "Uh…yeah, I remember…"

Zero decided that this was a good time to 'play along' with Kaname's hallucinations. It would undoubtedly lessen the 'guilt' after all this was over, especially on Kaname's part. There would be a great flood in hell before the pureblood would let Zero give him a bath, let alone share a shower stall with him…at least that was what the silver-haired teen thought.

"Alice…?"

Oh. Right. Back to earth.

"Yes…?"

Zero could swear that…bastard's eyes narrowed at him, almost seductively,

"Take a bath with me…?"

…

-YEEEESSSSSSS!!!! OH HELL YESSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!-

'SHADDUP!!!!'

…

The Kiryuu twitched, face definitely red now, "Uh…I don't know--"

Before he could finish what was to be the lamest excuse of the century, Kaname's body gave a dangerous sway and Zero's arms just happened to be heroic enough to catch him in mid-fall.

Oh, and did I forget to mention that the catch inevitably brought Zero right underneath the shower head, which 'magically' turned on and sprayed both of them with lukewarm water…?

Okay, I just did.

"Shit!"

Zero couldn't help the small swear as he was drenched. Well, at least he wasn't wearing his full Cross Academy uniform. He'd left the jacket and vest somewhere in the bathroom hangers, deciding he might get a _little_ wet from his task--not THIS wet, though…

He didn't miss the chuckle that came from Kaname's lips. And that devious little smile.

Before Zero, the 'responsible babysitter' (well, that's what he's feeling right now) could say a grand and biting retort, the brunette smirked and remarked, "I told you you'll take a bath with me."

…

'GAH! YOU-- INSUFFERABLE--'

-…hot…-

'--SMUG--'

-…devious and utterly smexy…-

'---BASTARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!'

…

Zero couldn't help but peel off his poor doused white shirt (A/N:-not that it had anything else to hide anymore…fufufu…-) and deposit it unceremoniously on the bathroom tiles. A small hunter-oriented part of him was noting that from all the 'vampire essences' his clothes have soaked up, he should probably burn them when he returns to his dorm…that is, if manages to return in one, semi-sane piece after this encounter.

Kaname had gotten two squishy rose-shaped bath sponges and tossed one to Zero. After spritzing his with a rose-scented bath gel and working up a lather, Kaname started scrubbing his arms. Zero was about to …start on his half (he was facing Kaname's back- a pretty innocent start, he thought) when he noticed…

"You're…still in your pants…"

The brunette blinked, looked down, and continued scrubbing himself. "I know."

"… You can't take a bath that way…"

"I'll take off mine if you take off yours."

…

-SUUUUUUUUUUUUUURE………-

'O.O'

…

"Y-You--"

Kaname looked back at Zero with a serious dead-pan look, cutting off the silver-haired teen's useless stuttering. Of course, he wouldn't admit he was smirking inside.

In Zero's head, in a small part of it where reasoning still exists, a conscience noted that Kaname was acting strangely. Did he not just call Zero 'Alice' a while ago? This 'Alice' was definitely a girl, so why was Kaname forcing 'Alice' to strip?? Not unless he knew that it wasn't really 'Alice'--

It was a brilliant breakthrough, but sadly, it never did reach Zero for real. Because he was too busy making up weak excuses and saying them aloud.

"Uh…I mean…I guess…it's okay, because we're both…And you're...."

The brunette nodded, as if understanding whatever kind of logic Zero was babbling. He put a hand on the zipper on his pants, deliberately making the 'zzzzip' noise as discernable as possible.

Zero thought he would die right then and there. He really wished he had.

As luck would have it, Kaname's underwear was caught when he pulled his pants down. If Zero hadn't known better, he'd say Kaname had the skills of a veteran stripper. Not that Zero would know what that kind of skill looked like. He only overheard Toga talking about it once and the phrase sort of caught on him.

Thankful that he was only facing his back, Zero was about to resume his back scrubbing 'duty' when a hand stopped his.

'OH, GREAT GOD OF THE SKY, PLEASE- DON'T TURN AROUND--'

Kaname turned around, and it was then that Zero knew that the heavens were making him suffer for some unknown reason. What had he done to deserve such cruelty anyway???

Before Kaname could even start 'helping' Zero with his pants, the silver-haired teen had…fainted.

…

"…Alice…?"

------

(Aido and Kain's Room)

"I'm a goofy goober, yeah! You're a goofy goober, yeah! We're all goofy goobers, yeah!! (3)"

Aido rubbed his still-sleepy eyes. He had gotten at least a few long minutes of good sleep but that bliss was painfully interrupted when he heard a rather distracting noise, most likely hailing from the corner with the T.V. in it. Needles to say, he was annoyed.

"Shiki!! I told you- watch T.V. in your OWN room, and I don't care how the channel always ends up with Desperate Housewives, or something…"

"…Hanabusa."

Aido sat up from the warm confines of his bed and looked at the direction of the noise. Okay, it was either Shiki had swallowed some sort of frog, or that the person watching mind-numbing cartoons wasn't who he thought he was—

After a few more thoughtful rubs on his still half-asleep eyes (-a pathetic attempt to rub the sleep away-), the blonde can not hold back the twitch, "A-Akatsuki??!?"

…

Well…this was awkward.

…

Aido always thought that Kain had enjoyed more…suitable T.V. programs, like Discovery Channel, or something. Not…Spongebob Squarepants. The image just doesn't seem right.

"Uh…so…what are you watching…?"

Kain turned back to face the widescreen monitor, "Spongebob."

Aido sweatdropped at the utterly laid-back look Kain had on the 'disturbing' show. It was almost like he was…actually enjoying it.

"Uhm…What episode?"

The blonde had scuffled out of his bed and was now staring with wide-eyed curiosity at the screen. Kain pulled him down on one of the fluffy pillows beside him.

"The mother of all episodes." the taller of the two responded, watching Aido's reaction from the corner of his eyes. He knew the blonde knew nothing about Spongebob, but he was obviously trying to pretend he did for the sake of a comfortable atmosphere, especially after what happened just a few hours ago (4). Aido was such a lovable goober that way (:3).

"Ah, you mean it's like a really old one? I've already watched that."

Kain quirked an eyebrow. He turned off the T.V. and looked at his cousin, "Oh really? What happened? Tell me."

Aido gulped, though he hoped it wasn't that visible. He had been successfully playing along…up to now, that is. It wasn't his fault that he wanted to be closer to Kain, even more so because of what happened. Call him an attention freak, but he just doesn't like it when a relationship just sparks then goes off. What if what happened a few moments ago was all just a dream- some cursed hallucination? He couldn't take that. It was just too cruel. If this conversation was a proof of how close they now were, even more then before, then he wouldn't want it to end.

"Hanabusa…?"

The blonde jolted, then blurted out random things, "Uh…I think it was the one where Spongeboob—"

"Spongebob." Kain corrected gently.

"Ah, right…I knew that. It was the one where Spongebob..uh…ate this…uh…magic pickle…"

"And then…?"

"And then..uh…he turned into this…vegetarian monster…"

"Go on…"

"But then he started to see everyone as fruits and vegetables and he ended up chasing down his friends Tinky Winky, Dipsy, Lala and…and…annnd…"

Aido paused, face in deep thought.

Kain patted his head, "Po."

"Oh, yeah! Po!"

"Uh-huh. Mind telling me how it ended?"

The blonde fiddled around with his fingers, obviously panicking, "Uh…uh…But then at the last minute, he recognized his friends' voices and he didn't end up eating them. The end…?"

The two stared at each other, unblinking and seemingly dead-serious for a couple of seconds before…

Kain burst out laughing. Aido would have found this annoying, the fact that he was laughing at his expense, but the deep and rich laughter caught the blonde completely off-guard.

After a few moments to catch his breath, the sunset-eyed teen settled a warm smile on his cousin before lovingly ruffling his hair. "Okay, first of all- that was NOT a really old episode. It was the movie. Second –there is no episode of Spongebob that insane. And third- Tinky Winky, Dipsy, Lala, and Po are not from Spongebob Squarepants. Got that?"

Aido missed the smile, head already bowed as he took what he thought was a telling-off. "Sorry I lied about knowing. Maybe you should just get together with someone who knows Spongebob better than I do."

Kain did not miss the hurt in that voice and he hugged the blonde before he could get away.

"Hey, I didn't say anything like that. In fact…I thought it was really sweet of you to try to be interested in something that I like."

The sky blue-eyed teen looked at his cousin's own warm set of eyes, "…Really…?"

"Really." Kain removed a tear from Aido's eye with a gentle sweep of his hand.

…

Aido blinked, not disliking the warmth in Kain's arms (5) but also a bit bored, "What now?"

Kain looked at him, eyes gaining a mischievous little glint, "How about we…"

"We what…?" the blonde gulped. He couldn't really mean—

…

…

…

"Play Tekken."

Aido wailed.

He knew it.

"But I always lose, Akatsukiiiii…"

Kain laughed a bit more, "I'll try to go easy on you."

"That's what you said last time!!! And I STILL got my butt kicked!!"

"Then maybe, you should try a distraction tactic-"

Before Aido could make any wisecracks, Kain leaned down and kissed him. On the lips. For the second time that day.

Pulling away, the taller of the two smirked, "-Like that."

Aido was pink now, blushing adorably, "That was unfair!! You always take advantage of me!"

"Just because I'm taller…?"

…

Oh. Wait. Wrong word.

Kain looked worriedly at his cousin now. Aido was particularly sensitive about height matters.

"Hanabusa…"

"I get player one!!!"

The orange-haired teen sighed. Aido had clearly passed off the insult, which was not an easy thing to do for the blonde because any sane person can see that he was such a prideful person, what with from the way he carried himself around and such…

Kain chuckled inwardly.

'What a lovable goober.'

With that last thought, Kain settled himself beside his beloved cousin and proceeded to kick his butt in Tekken 5.

-TBC-

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Whew! Done with another one!! Lol, there were a LOT of random things going on in there…especially in the supposed 'shower scene'…

NOTES:

(1)- Alice- This was a random name. Actually, I do have an OC with this name but she's ---- and ----'s daughter, so the one mentioned in this story is not her!! For those of you who have spare time, try and guess whose daughter she is! CLUES: one, they're from the VK universe, two, they're both guys (-don't ask me how they got a daughter-), and three, the dashes I used correspond to a letter, forming their name :D

(2)- I'm referring to Rido here. For those of you who haven't read the recent manga volumes yet…I'll keep my mouth shut on this one. I just used his mention for added drama. 

(3)- WE'RE ALL GOOFY GOOB—Oh,sorry. In case you haven't noticed- it's a line from Spongebob Squarepants the Movie. Who's this 'Spongebob Squarepants', you ask?? …

Go join Aido in that dark, Spongebob-less corner over there.

(4)- in reference to past chapter.

(5)- GAH! WHAT FANGIRL DOES NOT LIKE THIS???????? –Sorry, just had to blurt that out. :D

I wasn't honestly expecting so much drama in this one…but what the hey, it happened anyway. (lol, that could be a song!).

Oh, looky!! There's a surprise!!! There's another chapter after this!!!

Press that 'next' button. I know you want to :D

Don't forget to send me reviews, ok? I'd really like that :D This fic-bunny would too :D


	9. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: Welcome to the second part of my Block Updating mission! Even thought I'm currently feeling a bit down, I will try my best to make a great chapter!! Yeah!

Innerself: (sigh) Do I have to remind you again??

Me: …Uh…

Innerself: This is a DIS---

Me: I do not own Vampire Knight!! However, I do own copies of the awesome omake pages from the novel where Kaname admits he is both a sadist and a masochist!! (lol)

Innerself: Congratulations. You have now graduated from bumbling writer to great spoiler. T.T

Me: YAY!!

Ok, ok…enough conversations with myself (--??--), time to get cracking again!!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The intense glare of the afternoon sun had faded, leaving only a faint warmth in the surroundings. Still, the ground seemed to have absorbed most of the heat, making it almost impossible to sit on the nearby outdoor benches in Cross Academy. The stored heat had made a little warm haze spread through the school. It was almost like it was summer, though it was actually autumn now.

Damn global warming.

Yuuki fanned herself with her notebook, all the while glancing out the window. She had asked Mikoto to switch places with her since she reasoned she was looking for someone…though the fact that it was a bit cooler near the window was also an accounted reason.

'Zero….where are you?? You're missing class!!'

The brunette pouted, now fully ignoring the teacher in front and gazing at the grounds. It was so unlike Zero to miss class, even though he did look like the 'rebel' kind. He cared enough for his education, and he was pretty good at getting it too, seeing as he didn't have a failing mark in any subject….unlike Yuuki.

Yuuki sighed. These past few days, Zero had been even more distant than before but she had the feeling it wasn't that 'bad' sort of distant. It wasn't definitely that 'I'm-gonna-commit-suicide' sort of distant, and Yuuki was thankful for that. In fact, from the funny change in aura she sensed coming from the silver-haired boy, she would have guessed that he was happily preoccupied with something…

…Almost like he was in love, or something.

Well, that was even better! Now, Zero can focus his energy in a more positive outlet!

She'd always cared so much for the boy. He was her best friend, and she had always wanted the best fro him. Sure, there was a time when Yuuki thought she had somewhat fallen for the boy, but crushes come and go. Now, only a strong sense of friendship remained…and an even stronger 'sister-like' instinct for her adorable 'brother'.

Once, Headmaster Cross had joked that Yuuki acted more like the older of the two. Well, it seems it was kind of true…

Wait. Where was she?

Oh yeah--

Zero in love!

'Hm…I wonder who the lucky girl is…'

"YUUKI CROSS!!!"

"HAI!"

The lithe brunette stood up as her name was hollered. She had expected a piece of chalk to hit her in the forehead, but what hit her was something worse- an actual class question.

Their teacher twitched, obviously intent on making the girl focus, or at least learn her lesson about daydreaming in class, "Since you seem to have memorized the lesson, please explain to the class what the different types of algebraic functions are!!"

Yuuki felt a lump in her throat, "F-Function…?"

She glanced at Yori, who was desperately trying to tell her the answer. But Yuuki was too far now, and her mind was in a jumble.

"Uh…like…Mal…function…?"

The whole class burst out laughing, but their teacher only got angrier.

"MISS YUUKI CROSS, I would not want to see you daydreaming in this class again! Is that understood?"

"Yes sir!"

Totally pink from her blunder, Yuuki saved a last glance out the window.

Looks like she'll have to figure out who Zero's crush is later on. There were more urgent things at hand-

"YUUKI CROSS!! ARE YOU DAYDREAMING AGAIN???"

"NO SIR!!"

"Then what are you doing staring out the window like that??"

"Uh…"

Just in the nick of time, two bluebirds (-guess who?-) perched on the branch near her window. A light bulb flashed in Yuuki's head.

"Uh, I was just watching these fascinating species of birds." The brunette smirked inwardly. She knew their algebra teacher was a total bird fanatic. He often rambled on and on about his various bird watching 'expeditions' and bored the class half to death. At least at those rare times he actually spared the class a math lesson that would surely bore them to death.

As expected, their teacher went to the window, "Ah! Fantastic specimens of bluebirds!!"

He glanced back at the class with the air of the utmost bird expert, his large nose sticking up into the air.

The class knew what that pose meant.

"This reminds me of that time I went to the Amazon rainforest to look for this extremely rare specie of bird that had the most beautiful blue plumage…."

The class groaned. Not another one.

"Ah, just look at those lovely birds, nuzzling up to each other like that. Birds are also very affectionate animals. Why, this one time I had this pet bird. He was a parrot and I named him Harry and he…Wait. Something seems to be off here…"

Curious, the teacher walked closer to the window. All eyes were on the window and the two birds now.

"My word! This is definitely strange!"

Yuuki blinked, "What's so strange about them, sir?"

Their teacher turned back to the class, a most thoughtful look on his face, "Well, those two birds certainly are together. Just from looking at them, you could tell they were partners. But…it's strange…that they're the same gender."

A voice piped up from behind the class, "You mean they're, like, GAY, sir??"

A few chuckles sounded, but the teacher looked all the more convinced. "Perhaps I should try to catch them and study them better…"

Another voice piped in, "Should I get your net, sir?"

This was answered by a nod, and the class was sent into a little flurry- a bird catching flurry, that is.

Yuuki couldn't believe all the fuss going on. Their math class had clearly been completely forgotten.

Yori nudged her, smiling, "You should use bird excuses more often. They seem to bring extremely good luck."

The brunette sweatdropped. "Yeah, I guess… Now if only I can find Zero…I sure hope he's not getting into any trouble."

--------

(Kaname's Room)

The pale figure stood out, strikingly beautiful against the deep crimson covers of the large canopied bed. Silky silver strands splayed over the silky maroon pillow almost looked like gentle moon rays stolen from heaven…and probably never to be returned to that place ever again. The milky chest heaved up and down, lost in deep slumber.

Kaname smirked, now having full permission to gaze at the boy beside him. He never could do that whenever they saw each other during transition time. It would cause trouble and a couple of rather nasty suspicions…but now that Zero was sleeping, no knowledge whatsoever of what is happening--

Hold on.

Zero was unconscious.

Dead to the waking world.

…

A devilish look crossed Kaname's face. He suddenly remembered that boy's love manga that Ichijou had lent him. Okay, so maybe he didn't actually lend it to him. Kaname sort of… 'borrowed' it from his room. He returned it anyway! Besides, what were those kind of 'inappropriate' manga doing in Ichijou's room in the first place? The blonde should have known that Kaname would go snooping around and find them.

Long story short- it wasn't Kaname's fault that he found that manga and read it.

But anyway…

The brunette leaned in closer to the sleeping figure beside him.

Even though the memory is still a bit hazy, Kaname somewhat knew that Zero had done a responsible and thoughtful thing. And if the minor buzz from the back of his head was any indication, he might have suffered devastating scenarios if Zero hadn't come by.

…

But the question still remained: What was Zero doing in the Moon Dorms?? As far as Kaname remembered, there were no inspections to be done today, or for this month, for that matter…

…

'Maybe Zero just wanted to see him.'

Kaname chuckled. It was fun daydreaming this way, especially when the object of his secret affection was beside him, unconscious but still there.

'Secret affection', you ask?

Well, yes. It was the only logical thing he can come up with, what with all his thoughts often straying to the hunter. Sure, Kaname loved Yuuki dearly…but what he felt for Zero was a completely different thing. He was…brotherly, at most, with his feelings for Yuuki. With Zero…well, let's just say he'd experienced a lot of 'strange' dreams and awkward but entertaining thoughts whenever the silver-haired boy was concerned.

And the fact that his dentist did NOT drug him meant only one thing…

…He was in love with this beautiful boy.

…

The brunette sighed. He'd almost forgotten about his…predicament.

He stood up from his bed and got hold of a hand mirror, the black bathrobe he had on swishing elegantly. When he examined his teeth, he was at least a bit thankful that the braces were barely noticeable…well, except when the sun or any other light hits it and Kaname is bound to literally blind anyone with his smile.

He poked a part of it, wincing a bit at the sharp pain.

'Okay, so maybe he should stop poking these things. It's really not worth it.'

"…Kaname…?"

The pureblood blinked and looked at the source of the voice.

Zero was awake now, groggily trying to sit up.

If Kaname hadn't known better, he would have thought this scene reminded him so much of an 'aftermath' scene…like the one in that boy's love manga when the uke wakes up later than the seme(1) in the morning after…and calls him in an oh-so adorable voice…and then they--

"WTF!! I'M NAKED!!!!!!!!! WHAT'D YOU DO TO ME, KURAN???!!??"

Ah. Daydream over.

Before Zero could wake up the rest of the Night Class with his (rather effeminate) yelling, Kaname was on top of him in a split-second, a stern yet mildly playful look on his russet eyes.

"Now Zero, if you do not want the whole building to know you're here, you might as well keep it down a bit."

The Kiryuu could only stare, wide-eyed at the vampire currently pining him down. He sighed, about to concede with the conditions when he noticed…

"Get OFF me, then!!!!"

It was nothing but a small shove that would have had no effect whatsoever to the pureblood, so Kaname chose to remain where he was…at least for a few more moments.

"Why should I…? It's nice here…and…" -a rather discernable purr- "…warm."

Zero obviously panicked, what with him being naked under those sheets and a rather…appealing pureblood pressed on him like that…not to mention that Kaname was acting all weird and that…he was starting to like the said position…

"Get-Off-ME."

A harder shove this time, and Kaname had to concede. Besides, if Zero were to turn a darker shade of red, he would have to call a doctor and that is something Kaname would not want.

Zero started a small shuffling on the bed, as if intent on leaving as quickly as possible.

"Where the hell are my clothes??"

Kaname countered him, as calm and smug as ever, "What were you doing in my room?"

Oh. Crap.

Zero stopped fussing around in the bed and stared. He did NOT have time to deal with this right now…but then again, he knew of the consequences, right? He should have a formed a valid excuse in his head the moment he brought the pureblood to his room.

But the problem was…Zero had no excuse.

He got too preoccupied with…things, so much so that he barely had time to think.

He was in so…much…trouble…

…

The brunette noticed Zero's lack in response and sighed. He really did not want the boy to feel awkward right now, especially when they had just shared some precious moments together.

Sigh.

Precious moments that end right…now.

"It's fine. Your clothes are on the hangers behind the bathroom door. After that, you may leave through the window. That way, no one will notice you."

…

The sentence barely registered in Zero's head. It took him a few more seconds before he fully comprehended what Kaname had said. Seeing as the pureblood had his back turned to him, he made a quick dash to the bathroom and closed the door.

Kaname turned after hearing the almost imperceptible click of the door. He gave a languid look over the window.

'Afternoon, huh? It will be dusk soon…'

…

Zero was usually quick when it came to changing, but it seems his fingers were frozen. He could barely slip the button on his white shirt (-miraculously dry now). A small exasperated sigh escaped his lips as he momentarily leaned on the nearest wall, trying to gather up his nerves.

Breathe in…

....Breathe out…

Breathe in…

…Breathe out…

'It's okay. Nothing happened. You don't have to remember this ever happened.'

-Says you.-

'Oh holy-- not YOU again!! Haven't you tortured me enough for the day???!!?'

-I didn't do anything, Ze-ro-chan.-

'LIAR!!! YOU're the reason why I'm in this mess right now!!'

-I didn't say anything.-

'!'

-Seriously. I mean, I wanted to, but you were making all the right moves yourself. You're getting better at this, ain't cha?-

'…!?!'

-I wasn't the one who made you take Kaname to his room. I only brought you to the Moon Dorms.-

'…You mean…all this time…'

-Yep. You were acting of your own free will.-

'…………………………..'

-Well, I tried to convince you a few times…but I still didn't do anything, or move any part of you…-

'……………………………………………………………………'

-Zero…?-

'…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..'

-OH NO YOU DON'T!! You've fainted for far too many times in one day!!-

Zero, whose body had been slowly sliding downward, gripped the side of the wall.

There was no way in hell he was going to go through all 'that' again.

"Zero…what exactly happened?"

The silver-haired boy was about to yell something mentally to the little evil voice in his head when he realized that the voice was external…not internal.

…And that the voice did not belong to him, or to any part of his 'disturbed' psyche.

…

Kaname was talking. In a clearer note- Kaname was actually ASKING him what happened…and Zero can't have that. No. Not at all.

He can't tell him he found out something sensitive about his past! Or the fact that he actually wanted Zero to bathe with him…

…

"Since when did I say you can call me by my first name, Kuran?"

Ah, yes, that was the answer. Put up a tough front, like always, and that bastard won't be bothering you at all--

"Since you called me by mine…Now, can you tell me what happened?"

Oh. Crap.

Zero didn't expect that.

Well, he DID call Kaname by his first name a while ago.

Darn.

That pureblood was good.

…

The silver-haired boy stepped out of the bathroom, dressed like nothing had happened. His face was also back to the cold one he always wore, the Bloody Rose glinting in his right hand.

"Move, Kuran."

…

Kaname…was surprised, to say the least. As if not really believing the sudden shift, he asked playfully, "What happened to that adorable part of you with whom I was talking to…?"

He was answered with the barrel of the cold gun pressing against his temple.

"I said move."

Almost as if the curtains have draped down once again, the pureblood's eyes darkened a bit and his face hardened.

"There's no need for that, Kiryuu-kun."

The brunette stepped to the side. Zero lowered the gun and walked past him, eyes blank. Tension settled into the room, heavy and thick.

Only when the younger one had left did the tension lessen and Kaname released a breath he wasn't aware he was even holding.

Some part of him ached from the way Zero looked at him…

…And for the first time, it wasn't his damned braces' fault.

---

(Transition Time)

"How're you pretty ladies this evening?"

"WE'RE FINE NOW THAT YOU'RE HERE, IDOL-SENPAI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Cue loud 'kya'-ing and Yuuki's whistle.

"Stay back!!! No pushing!!!"

The brown-haired girl put out all the strength her lithe frame can muster to prevent the hordes of fan girls (and some fan guys) from 'devouring' the passing Night Class. She had a new whistle to help her, but it seems she will still have a difficult time tonight.

"ZERO!"

The silver-haired boy's head turned to look at the other prefect. His face registered…nothing, like always.

"Help me over here!!"

"Uh…ok."

At once, the hordes were silenced. The glorious Night Class proceeded in a quieter atmosphere since Kain had pulled Aido away from his fans. The taller one did not really do this often…but he felt a bit possessive today.

Finally, the last of the elite class has come out from the gates.

Shiki was with Ichijou, who was carrying a small pillow. It seems some people were not going to take class seriously for today and sleep it off. Well, it wasn't like they needed the education anyway. They can catch up anytime they wanted to, being vampires and all that.

Last was Kaname, who greeted Yuuki with a small nod and a smile. The girl replied with one of her pink-faced, rushed bows. Ah, Yuuki was always so adorable when she was like this…

The atmosphere changed totally when the pureblood passed by Zero.

Even the crowd of students stopped their noise, almost as if expecting some sort of fight to start. Or at least thunder and lightning on the sky, just to complete the mood.

"Kiryuu--"

"Move along, Kuran-senpai."

The Night Class turned back, aghast by the treatment given to their leader. Kaname, on the other hand, just hid his slightly shocked face and proceeded on walking away.

When he had left, the crowds were also gone.

"Zero…?"

The Kiryuu had been glaring at the retreating figure of Kaname for the past minute now. He even continued glaring even when the brunette was already out of sight. He would have gladly continued if only Yuuki hadn't called him.

"What?"

The smaller prefect frowned, "Is something wrong…? I know I'm always asking you this and it might get annoying but I really am worried--"

"It's nothing."

"…Listen, Zero…I think I know what's your problem…"

Zero tensed, but he didn't show it. Yuuki couldn't know about what happened! …or could she..?

"You're in love Zero, and you can't deny it. You're showing all the signs."

'In love?????!!!!????'

The silver-haired boy scratched the back of his head, "Listen, Yuuki…it's not that--"

"But it is!!! I can tell from my female intuition, Zero, and my female intuition is NEVER wrong!! Just go ask Headmaster Cross!!!"

Not really in the mood to fight off an annoyed and pushy Yuuki-chibi right now, Zero sighed.

"So what if it is…? It's over now, anyway."

Yuuki's eyes widened, "Oh. It is…? But…so quickly…?"

Zero nodded, albeit a bit sadly, "It wasn't worth it."

…

A chilly autumn wind blew on the Cross Academy grounds. The wind blew past Zero and Yuuki, gently playing with their hair as well as mildly stinging their cheeks with the sheer cold.

…

"We'd better go."

The taller teen turned to leave, but Yuuki's hand stopped him.

"You have to believe in love, Zero. Love will find a way."

Zero stared at her, thoughtful for a few minutes before he sighed.

"If you say so, Yuuki…If you say so."

Her mission accomplished, Yuuki let go and watched as Zero made his way to the area near the classrooms.

Zero might not trust her now, but she knows a way on how to give Zero the love of his soul mate. Everything was already laid out. All she had to do was wait for the Winter Festival this coming December.

Zero will believe in the power of love. He will, soon.

-TBC-

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GAHH. Part two of BLOCK UPDATING MISSION, complete!! I think I'll have to end this mission now, though…I'm tired! Updating like this is harder than I thought…

If any of y'all have ideas for Yuuki's plan or for the Winter Festival, feel free to tell me. I myself haven't made up a concrete plan (-what I have is a bit wobbly--) so I really need your ideas :D

Sorry for the lack of KainxAido or ShikixIchijou focus on this one. I…was kinda in a rush :P

AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW!!!

Yep, just press that button down there!! It's so easy, it should be a crime…but it isn't!! Isn't that great??? :D


	10. Author's Note Yet Again

Ok, first of all—I am TRULY, VERY SORRY for making you guys wait for an update. I know how horrible it feels to have to wait for something for such a long time (trust me- been there, done that). I have been in a fic 'hibernation period' because of my school work (being a graduating student isn't that easy!!) but I WILL RESUME MY WORK after two weeks or so.

I know it kinda sucks how long it takes but I will try to make it worth your while in the next (-and probably last-) chapter of Vampire Braces.

Thanks for all the support (so far)!!

-Kazuya Arsashi088


	11. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: Betcha thought I was dead, huh?? HUH????? .. Well, actually, I thought I was too. For a couple of days. Hehe. The school-monster gobbled me up, and I am now in its fourth stomach nicknamed 'College'. Yah. True story.

Inner self: I know I don't have to do anything to make your situation worse since your readers might already have their riot torches and just need to dust them a bit but—SAY A DISCLAIMER ALREADY!! Sheesh, you always misuse this space…

Me: Oh. Right. I do not own Vampire Knight. If I did, I sure as hell won't be making fanfiction for it since it'll be filled to the brim with yaoi.

Here's what y'all have been waiting for!! And- seriously- sorry for the wait. You can torch me later after this chapter.

WARNINGS: fluff, Yuuki the yaoi fan girl, the evil that is Kaname Kuran…you know the rest.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Zero sensed that something was not right.

Well, first of all, the Day Class girls (-were they actually really girls, with their freakish brute strength and rabidity…?-) seemed tame. Almost quiet and subdued. They yelled their affections for the Night Class at tolerable noise decibels. Zero didn't even need his ear plugs.

Second, he hasn't seen Yuuki since class that day. He would have been really annoyed but since the Day Class girls were tamer than usual, he didn't mind the absence much. But still, Yuuki should have told him something. Who knows, she might be calling up danger somewhere by now.

Honestly, that girl…

…

"Uh..ano…Kiryuu-kun?"

Silver amethyst orbs glanced at a particular female member of the mob behind him. "Hm?"

…

The girl looked shy and reserved. She had big round glasses and her hair was in two braids that hung by the sides of her face. Her voice was also very soft. Well, that was what Zero thought before she spoke again…

"WE'REHAVINGAFAIRTHISWEDNESDAYOURCLASSWANTSYOUTOSINGYUUKIWANTSYOUTOSINGTOOWEALREADYAHAVEASONGYOUPRACTICETOMORROW….OKAY?????"

Zero blinked, "Uh…What—"

"THANKS! WE'LL SEE YOU TOMORROW IN THE H.E. ROOM!!!!"

And with that, the girl disappeared from sight.

The silver-haired lad had NO idea what he had gotten himself into.

…But somehow, he had a feeling that Yuuki had something to do with it.

…

A familiar squeak.

A subdued version of a 'Kya!'.

…

Zero sighed, knowing full-well what was coming...or more specifically, who were coming.

As if on cue, sparkles seem to appear out of nowhere as the famous Night Class made their way out into the 'imperfect' human world they were forced to live in.

Honestly, these people were so perfect they make everything else look second-rate. Even the trees feel second-rate.

Damn… Zero hated them.

... And that was even before the 'incident'.

…

Speaking of that incident…

The silver-haired prefect braced himself, not only for the onslaught of the fan girls but also for his internal mental banter that will undoubtedly ensue when **he** passes by.

…

Anytime now…

…

Zero blinked. The Night Class Vice President just passed by with Shiki. There was no one else behind them. And to make sure of that, the gates have already shut with its version of a click and the crowd dissipated.

The lilac-eyed teen furrowed his eyebrows as his gaze trailed behind Ichijou and Shiki.

'It's not just today too…'

"Ichijou-senpai."

The blonde turned, megawatt smile on place, "Yes, Kiryuu-kun?"

"Where's Kana—er.. Kuran-senpai…?"

Shiki stopped walking as Ichijou did. Both noticed the –almost- slip of tongue. They also noticed the faint dusting of pink on the prefect's usually pallid face as he also noticed the slip.

The couple gave each other brief knowing looks before the blonde turned to Zero.

"Kaname is busy, signing paperwork from the Council."

Zero blinked, for the second time that evening. Then he gave a quiet nod of 'Thanks' before he went on his way.

…

Ichijou couldn't help but frown as they watched the dejected puppy's (:3) retreating form.

"I wish he would stop making stupid excuses and just come talk to him. The poor thing…he's obviously sad."

Shiki 'hmm'-ed in response.

"Kaname's being a total idiot over this."

"Hm."

"Shiki…"

Worried and slightly annoyed emerald green met electric blue.

The younger of the two sighed.

"We can't do anything. It's their problem, after all."

"But can't we do anything to at least help them..?"

…

There was a suspicious scuffling in the nearby bushes. The two vampires went to a completely guarded mode.

Shiki took hold of Ichijou's arm and was about to call on his blood whip when…

…a poorly disguised Yuuki Cross popped up from the bushes.

"Sorry! Did I scare you?"

Yuuki was wearing something that looked like a full bush of leaves, except that the stuff was stuck all over her Cross Academy uniform like some freakish growth. She was also sporting a bushy helmet and was wearing camo binoculars with the classic lipstick war stripes on the sides of her face.

In short, she looked like a bush that had grown a Yuuki in it. (XD)

"Uh…"

Shiki twitched and had to turn his back to the girl to hide his guffaw.

"I think what Shiki's trying to say is…what were you doing in there? Aren't you supposed to be patrolling with Kiryuu-kun?"

Yuuki looked around a bit, slightly alarmed, "There's no one around, right? I thought I heard Zero a while ago…"

"He left to patrol the grounds…which, it seems, you are not keen on doing tonight."

The small brunette ignored the jab at her duties and, instead, turned with full attention at the couple, "I overheard you talking about Zero and Kaname-senpai. There **is** a way you can help them."

Shiki stopped laughing long enough to stare at the girl, "How are we gonna do that?"

"Well, I guess you both already know of the Winter Festival our school has a few weeks from now…"

The two nodded.

"This is what I want to happen.." A beckon of her hand and the two leaned in.

…

The circle of conspirators broke up a few minutes later.

"I think it's a great idea!" Ichijou's smile brightened.

Shiki nodded too, "But how are you going to make them do that…?"

Yuuki looked up at the blonde, "I was thinking you guys could help me on Kaname-senpai's part."

Ichijou nodded, and so did Shiki.

The girl flashed a determined grin, "Phase Two, Complete!"

---------

(Kaname's Room)

The brunette sighed, sprawled on his spacious bed. His closet was open, revealing rows of his pristine Night Class uniform, all ready to be worn. But they never were worn…at all…for the past three days.

It had been four days since the incident.

Kaname thought it would be fine to go on as it was the day after 'it'. But the moment he passed by the prefect, he felt like his legs turned to mush and he had to thank his innate sense to gather up his wits before he did something stupid in front of everyone.

The memory was still fresh in his mind…and he had no idea why he kept remembering it.

…

It wasn't like Kaname lacked the ability to selectively forget any…'inconvenient' parts of his memory.

But this was a particularly stubborn one. Really…really -particularly- stubborn.

…

Was it because the incident brought to semi-life his daydreams of the silver-haired prefect?

…

Maybe.

…

Well, duh. Obviously.

…

But it's not like he can do anything now. The said prefect seemed to have formed the iron will of forgetting about the incident, if the way he avoided his gaze back then was of any indication.

…

There goes his hopes and dreams. Down the toilet.

…

Flush…

…

"Cheep?"

…

'Cheep?? Toilets don't go 'cheep'…'

…

Kaname looked up from his position to the window. There was a cute bluebird watching him from the branches of the nearby tree.

Deciding that a natural distraction was needed, he approached it, even opening the window so there were no barriers present between them.

'-Sigh.- If only being with Zero was this easy…'

He held out an elegant hand to the bird, who happily perched on it (just like a scene from –insert beloved Disney movie with animals and pretty maidens here- XD).

"You're a cute bird…"

The said bundle of blue feathers tilted its head to the side.

Kaname sighed again. "If only Zero would come to me as easily as you did."

The bird blinked…then pecked the pureblood's hand.

"OW! What was that for??!?"

Satisfied, the bluebird flew off and back on to the branch where another bluebird awaited it.

…

Kaname looked at the 'peck mark'. It wasn't that bad. Just a small wound.

What was up with wildlife these days??!??

…It must be global warming, or something.

…

But thanks to that, Kaname realized that he can't expect Zero to just come to him. If he really wanted him, he had to do something about it. Lying around here, moping, won't change anything! He had to take action!!

… But what kind, though?

…

As if on cue, there was a knock on the door.

"Kaname…? It's Ichijou. We need to talk about…Kiryuu-kun."

The tall brunette wasted no time in opening the door, "What do you have in mind?"

For one of the few times in his life, Kaname saw the blonde smirk.

It was a good sign…A _very_ good sign.

(-insert evil laugh here- XD)

------

(The Next Day… Day Class Home Ec Room)

There was a distinct 'ting!' sound as the oven seemingly signaled the silver-haired hunter over.

Leaning over, Zero managed to get a hold of his perfectly-done vanilla soufflé. The girls (and some of the guys) all crowded around him, squeeing at how good Zero was in baking. Also, the stuff smelled really good so getting in close was of really good benefits. It was also good if you had a fork with you…

"Ne, ne…Zero-kun!! Can we have a taste???"

The prefect shrugged and put down the delicate pastry, "It's all yours."

Loud 'kya'-ing ensued, followed by the everyone trying to get a piece of the delicious object (-the soufflé, not Zero :3-).The noise level and the girls' rabidity almost equaled that of the times they meet the Night Class at twilight.

Zero thought so too, but he merely scoffed at the thought, preparing for another soufflé. He had been baking since class started. It was not like it was a problem with the teacher or anything. It was Home Ec, after all.

That, and he promised the teacher at least half of his baked goods.

It's not a problem, seeing as he was so keen on baking today.

…

Why was he so keen on baking today, anyway…?

…

Any well-versed girl could say that Zero was suffering from a bout of depression and was trying to distract himself with baking, which is a stress-relieving past time.

But of course, no one could say that to his face for fear of their lives.

…

The class bell rang for break just as Zero put the pan into the oven.

Before he could start cleaning up, Yuuki and a bunch of girls crowded around him.

Zero sighed, "It won't be done until after a few more minutes—"

"We're not here for the soufflé, Zero."

He blinked, "Uh…Then what—"

Without so much as a warning, the girls pulled the poor prefect out of the room, into the hallway, and finally into the music room.

"We had a deal, Kiryuu-kun."

Zero blinked. She was that girl from yesterday. What was she doing here?? And what was happening???!?

"We all know your problem, Zero. I know, and I told them so we can have help." Yuuki was staring at Zero innocently while the taller prefect was being tied down to chair so as to prevent him from bolting away anytime soon.

"What problem???!?! What are you talking about???????" Zero struggled against his restraints, but he was no match against jump ropes and Girl Scout knot tying techniques.

"It's your love problem, Zero."

"Love problem??!?!? What love problem????"

"The one you have with Kaname-senpai, of course."

…

Zero was stunned into silence for a few minutes.

Yuuki paced in front of him, talking like an expert detective does to an obviously guilty but in-denial criminal.

"When you were bothered days before and told me about your love problem that had gone awry, I had many suspects in mind. But just yesterday, I've had confirmation from Ichijou-senpai and Shiki-senpai…who look fabulous together, by the way…"

There were a couple of nods around the room.

Zero, whose face was now strikingly red, twitched, "You even have those bloodsuckers in on this???!?!? What the hell is going on????????????????????!?!????"

Yuuki leaned in, an evil little glint in her eyes, "What's going on is that we are going to help you get the love of your life, whether you want to or not. But there's not use denying it- we all know you want him."

Another round of collective nods.

Before Zero could say a grand biting retort (-he had none, by the way…-), Yuuki (-whom Zero has now deduced to be an evil yaoi fan girl-) pointed at the nearby radio, "START OPERATION LOVE PUPPY!!!"

-TBC-

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LOL. I seriously thought of doing this as a final chapter but there were so many things happening…

OH yea, before I forget…The explanation for the recent chapter's:

Note: (1)- seme and uke- every yaoi fan girl knows this. 'Seme' means top and 'Uke' means bottom. 'Nuff said. :3

Whew. My fingers are tired from typing so rapidly. I haven't been writing for soooo looonggg… but the next chapter won't take too long. Don't worry :D Oh, and don't worry about Kaname's braces. They're still there and will make a special appearance next chapter XD

And what would make me work faster on it are your reviews, dear beautiful people.

So make me work rapidly!! Send a review now!!

(-subliminal message sent XD-)


	12. Chapter 10 Finale

Disclaimer: I am the proud owner of braces. I will be a proud owner of Vampire Knight...if only I did own it. T,T

Innerself: Ah, so we've gone full circle, eh? And to think, you started this story with ire for your lovely dental attachments..

Me: I wouldn't be where I am now if it wasn't for them.

Innerself: Wow. Emotional growth.

Me: YESH! ............................................................now what?

Innerself: Oi. I knew it had to end somewhere... THE FIC, DOOFUS!! THE FIC!!

Me: You don't have to yell so loud.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed!! Here's the final chapter for y'all! :D

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_There were many things that Zero Kiryuu hated._

_When he was still a baby, he hated being away from his brother. _

_Whenever Ichiru wasn't around, little Zero would cry his buggy eyes out. This continued until they were five. By then, Zero had come to realize that crying won't do him any good and it was better to take action. Hence, he latched onto his brother's arm for dear life._

_He also hated carrots for a brief moment of his childhood._

_He didn't trust anything that came from nature but was not green._

_But he got over these petty 'hates', even managing to eat a carrot on his 9__th__ birthday._

_However, just when he thought that he had gone past seemingly trivial dislikes, the whole Shizuka incident happened._

_Starting from that, Zero became a being that seemed to thrive on hatred. _

_He breathed to destroy, lived to kill._

…

_But Zero was different now._

_He's older, wiser… He understands that 'hate' is not a good thing to cultivate within your soul, for it slowly rots it…and eats it up._

…

_As he started studying in Cross Academy and became a prefect, he had long forgone hating._

…

_He loathed instead._

_He loathed the Night Class, those evil, manipulating, goddamned bastards._

…

_If it wasn't for a certain someone, Zero might have continued on loathing the said beings._

…

_It was basically Yuuki's fault that he managed to lessen his apparent dislike for the bloodsuckers. _

_But the person who will change his entire view of the said beings was someone Zero never expected. _

_That person, standing on the other side of his life's spectrum, came towards him…disrupting the balance of Zero's otherwise monotonous life._

_-------_

The whole school was abuzz with preparations for the nearing Winter Festival. Everyone found the time in their own busy schedules to get involved. Some teachers who were considerate enough even gave a few minutes or half of their time to the students who were so hyped up with the festival that their normal attention span of 10 minutes got reduced to 2 minutes and 30 seconds. And goodness knows, you can't very well teach under those circumstances.

It was getting very chilly, but thankfully, there hadn't been any snow. It would completely disrupt a particular group's plan to make this a Winter Festival a certain soon-to-be couple would never forget.

Ah, yes…even the weather seemed to be cooperating in order to make these students happy.

…That, or this particularly rabid group might find some way to cause even the weather some pain.

…

And speaking of students finding the time to get involved, rumors say that even the 'notorious' Black Pillar of the Day Class is involved in the preparations. This rumor might have spawned from the fact that said person has been missing a lot of lunch breaks lately, opting to spend them in the music room. Also, said person's usually impeccable and impenetrable glare barrier had weakened considerably, allowing one Day Class girl to almost touch one Hanabusa Aidou's sleeve.

…Well, almost.

But this new piece of information just proves the fact that no one is immune to the sudden 'Winter Festival' fever that has befallen the academy…

No one, not even the Night Class.

Yes, even the 'fabled' Night Class is preparing for the event. It would explain why they have taken the initiative of decorating their own building, placing many colored tinsels against the otherwise cold and boring gray walls.

Since they have shown quite the enthusiasm, Headmaster Cross had agreed to make the Winter Festival a joint event, to be enjoyed by both the Day Class and Night Class.

No one was as more pleased by the recent development than a particular group of Day Class girls.

Needles to say, their 'charge' only got sulkier but he can't very well complain about it. After all, he was under those vicious girls' control…and a kidnap victim would know better than to displease his 'captors'.

…

Zero shivered at the thought of being a 'kidnap victim'. It made him feel uneasy…even more than what he was feeling right now—

"ZERO! Why are you slacking off?? The Winter Festival is just a few days away! PRACTICE!!!"

His hand almost fumbled on the handle as long graceful fingers tried to get their bearing on the otherwise foreign object in his arms.

Zero could only utter one silent grumble before he was forced…once again...against his free will—

"ZEEEERRRROOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!! STOP STARING OFF INTO NOTHING!!!!"

A groan. That was the only sound of complaint before another sound took over the music room and finally quieted the rabid girls around him.

--------

"Did they do as I told them to?"

A sigh. "Of course they did. Why wouldn't they? After all, you're—"

"Very good. The tinsel is hanged outside, I presume."

"Yes. But, honestly, did we have to go this far…?"

A creak from the antique but stylish chaise lounge. "We had to. He didn't notice anything so we had to put it in a way any common layman would see. No offense to him, of course."

"I don't think he would take any offense anyway."

A small pause.

"Yes. I guess you're right."

Another small pause.

"So…do you have any plans this Winter Festival with Sh—"

"NO! Uh…er…what I mean is.."

"He hasn't asked you about it yet, huh?"

"…Don't rub it in."

"I'm sure he'll ask you eventually."

"…He'd better ask me, or else."

"Hm..? What was that?"

"Oh, nothing. Nothing at all. We have to go now. They're all waiting."

"Alright then. Let's go."

A final creak from the lounge and the sound of the door clicking shut.

-----

A few days later…

-----

The smell of hot chocolate and freshly baked cinnamon cookies combined with the sharp but refreshing winter breeze was in the air. Pleasant giggles erupt from the girls every now and then, playing like a gentle tinkle of bells. The male half of the population in school chose to stay quiet and take in the pleasant tinge of coldness brushing their faces but never inflicting serious shivers thanks to their layered clothes for the season. Even if it was still early, many booths were already open, one even serving freshly made bread and warm milk-the bread all but melting in your mouth as what was left of it was washed down by the milk. Little Christmas lights adorned the trees, giving a festive and romantic glow to the normally cold and dreary grounds of the academy.

The Winter Festival has finally arrived.

-----

Since it was considered a school holiday, Headmaster Cross thought that it wouldn't be such a big event. After all, most students prefer to leave the academy for their winter break.

But as he glanced outside his big office windows, Kaien couldn't hold back a sigh.

"It seems like the whole school's still here…"

"You make it sound like you don't want to see them around here anymore, Kaien."

A small cloud of smoke signaled the entrance of one Toga Yagari.

The principal gently massaged the side of his temples. There was a certain pain radiating from his brain which felt like he was on the verge of having a brainfreeze.

"It's just that…I thought this Winter Festival would be a quieter event. Kind of like the dance—"

Toga fixed him a deadpan look, "That one wasn't peaceful at all."

A sweatdrop. "Oh, right."

Toga thought that Kaien's feelings have settled but the lighter-haired one still kept glancing at the slowly but steadily growing crowd on the grounds.

"At least, you should be happy that both of your…err…'children' participated in the preparations for the festival."

Cross' face lit up at the sentence, "Yes! It's absolutely wonderful!! I mean, getting Yuuki to cooperate with something like this is easy- especially if there's additional credit on the line- but Zero really surprised me with his enthusiasm!!"

"Enthusiasm…? I don't think you could call it that. I heard he was forced to be in it."

"Forced, enthusiastic whim…whatever you may call it, he's still in it no matter what!!"

It was Toga's turn to sigh as the Headmaster started on his long usual tirade about Zero as his 'little pumpkin' and Yuuki as his 'little cherry tart' and how they looked when they were just kids…cute as buttons…yadda,yadda,yadda…

"I'm leaving."

Cross stopped in mid-tirade and switched to shock mode. "What??!?? You can't leave! Who will teach my beautiful childr—urk."

A hand stopped the hyper blonde from uttering any more.

"I'm leaving this room! Not the academy. Sheesh, do you always have to exaggerate everything??"

To which, Cross could only honestly reply, "Sometimes."

In three seconds flat, Toga had left the room, leaving the Headmaster to pine about his 'lovely children' uninterruptedly, the chirruping of two bluebirds outside serving as the only other sound keeping him company.

------

The program for the Winter Festival was simple enough.

What was supposed to be a 'per class' performance turned into a mini-talent contest, due to the insistent push(es) of a certain group no one dared utter the name of.

The various gaming and food booths will be opened starting from morning till night. The main part of the program, which was the talent contest, will be held at exactly 7 pm, giving the Night Class (which would have joined the festivities around 6 pm) some time to enjoy themselves in the booths. Some Night Class members even volunteered to set up booths themselves, to the delight of fangirls and fanboys (!) alike.

Ruka came up with a make-over booth, while Rima set up game booth named 'Toss the Cookie in the Jar'. Shiki helped Ichijou with his nighttime butler-themed café, the idea of which the blonde got from a certain manga (almost everyone was shocked that Shiki even volunteered to help seeing as he was not into doing work). Aidou, as predicted by everyone in the Night Class, made a kissing booth. But no one was concerned with him getting in trouble since Kain would be handling the booth with him, as by Kaname's order.

And speaking of the pureblood…

There were many disappointed fangirls (and fanboys) when no one caught sight of the brunette. In fact, he was not present when the Night Class arrived. He had been missing from their usual twilight transition for some days now and it caused a 'silent grief' among his fans.

Many looked to the gates from which the elite group came from, expecting it to open once more and reveal the last but certainly not the least of them…but to no avail.

…

This only made Zero worry even more than when all of this started.

---------

'Dammit…Where is he??? … … … I knew this whole thing was a mistake to begin with.'

_-Tsk, tsk. Pessimism never gets you anywhere-._

'Oh yay. Hello little voice in my head. Long time no see.'

_-Miss me?- _

'Not really.'

_-That's really cold, Zero-chan. How can you manage to hold on to a relationship if you're that cold?-_

'If Kaname doesn't come tonight, there won't **be** a relationship.'

_-I know it sounds silly but if Kaname doesn't come toni—wow, Zero. Did you actually think what I thought you thought???- (_XD)

'Uh…yes…? After all, it's the truth, isn't it?'

_-Oh, Zero! What amazing emotional growth!! … It's so amazing..I'm tearing up a bit..'-_

'Why don't you just tear up the whole way and leave me alone?'

_-'Whew. For a second there I thought I was in the wrong person's head.'-_

'If only.'

_-'…'-_

'…'

_-'… He'll come, Zero. You'll see.'-_

'I hope so.'

_-'… He will come. Because… … …'-_

'Because…we're made for each other…? Urgh, can't believe I'm thinking like that now…'

_-'Shh! Don't ruin the mood!!! I was about to say something important!'-_

'-Sigh- Alright. What is it? Why do you think Kaname would come?'

_-'Because…'-_

'…?'

_-'Beeecaaauuusee…….'-_

'…..???!??'

_(cue horrible karaoke music) –'YOU'VE GOT TO BELIEVE IN THE POW'R OF LOOOOOOOOOOVVVVVVVVEEEE…!!'-_

'… … …I knew listening to you was a mistake.'

------

Finally, the clock timed 7pm.

The crowds predictably gathered to the area closest to the temporary stage set up by one of the eager festival committees a few days before. The soft-tinted spotlights made to dance lazily in the night sky turned into a more intense color as one was aimed at the center of the stage.

The people cheered when the two emcees emerged on the stage.

"Good evening, everyone!! So, how do you like the Winter Festival so far??"

This was answered by a crowd roar.

"Great!! So, let's hype you up some more and get this talent contest started!!!"

-----

A few minutes later…

(Backstage)

"Are you ready?"

"Oh, hi Yuuki. And no, I'll never be ready."

"But you're up next!! We worked so hard for this night, Zero!!"

"And it will all be pointless seeing as that particular bloodsucking bastard isn't here—"

"What are you talking about??!? Kaname-senpai's out there right NOW!!"

Zero blinked.

Cue the emcee, "That was a very..uh…interesting plate-spinning performance by Sato from second year!! And now, let us call on the third contestant—"

Cue crowd noise.

Zero barely noticed that Yuuki had pushed him on to the stage, trusty guitar in hand. The spotlight was kind of making him dizzy…

" Zero Kiryuu!!"

-----

The crowd was finally reduced to silence. The lights were dimmed and gentle strumming filled the air.

"_Waiting for your call, I'm sick, call I'm angry, call I'm desperate for your voice_

_Listening to the song we used to sing…"_

Everyone was stunned by how…beautiful Zero sounded. The singer, on the other hand, was focused on staring at his hands strumming on the guitar.

'If Kaname really was here…'

It only made Zero more nervous. Nevertheless, he continued..

"_In the car, do you remember_

_Butterfly, Early Summer_

_It's playing on repeat, just like when we would meet…_

_Like when we would meet…"_

'Like when we would meet at twilight…'

Zero almost scoffed, if only he wasn't on the stage right now. But then he tensed right up when the chorus came. God, he was trembling so much…

"_Cause I was born to tell you I love you_

_And I am torn to do what I have to_

_To make you mine_

_Stay with me tonight."_

After taking a deep breath, the silver-haired prefect finally let his eyes fall on the mesmerized crowd before him. His eyes searched, unabashed since he'd practically confessed it already.

Silvery lilac sought warm garnet red…and met nothing.

He'd passed glances at the Night Class, twice even…but he just couldn't find him.

Zero thought he felt his heart constricting painfully in his chest.

'Where is he?'

"_Stripped and polished, I am new, I am fresh…"_

Until finally, there was that aura.

It made Zero turn his head to the right and, sure enough, he was standing there…watching him with a smile both on his face and in his eyes.

'Kaname…'

"_I am feeling so ambitious, you and me, flesh to flesh_

_Cause every breath that you will take when you're sitting next to me_

_Will bring life into my deepest hopes_

_What's your fantasy?"_

Zero saw him smirk slightly at the implications of the song. The prefect's face gained a pretty dusting of pink but he pressed on. After all, Kaname was making no move in leaving, nor was he showing any inclination to stop gazing at the prefect…even making meaningful and appreciative eye contact.

The amethyst-eyed lad felt renewed strength bubble up from deep within him, urging him to finish the song…

'Maybe Yuuki was right with doing this, after all.'

"_Cause I was born to tell you I love you_

_And I am torn to do what I have to_

_To make you mine_

_Stay with me tonight."_

-------

After the talent contest…

The crowds were slowly dissipating and the booth owners were packing up their stuff from the hectic day they just had. It was around eleven in the evening and the non-vampires are already feeling the heaviness of their eyelids, the sandman paying no heed to the fact that they had all enjoyed the night's festivities and wanted to stay there until morning.

Fresh from performing that night, Zero did not mind lending the booth owners a hand. Even though he had a bit of a problem swatting fans away (now he knew what it felt like for the Night Class), he had no objections whatsoever in putting in a little work.

Plus, it was also a great way to avoid—

"Kiryuu-kun."

--Oh holy crap…He thought this particular booth was far enough!!

Zero did not look up from the small wooden crate he was currently carrying to a nearby vehicle. "What do you want, Kuran-senpai?"

'Keep your voice steady, Zero…If you act like what happened didn't happen, the odds are that he might forget!'

"Can we talk?"

'..Oh, who am I kidding…?'

Zero merely grunted as a response and followed the tall brunette as he headed to the academy's fountain. The younger of the two would forever deny that just then, his heart had started hammering so loudly in his chest or that his steps have gotten lighter and there was an urge to skip as he followed the dorm president.

-----

_There were many things that Kaname Kuran loved._

_For one, he loved roses. It was pretty obvious with the way he liked surrounding himself with them. He admired the fact that roses, no matter how beautiful they were, only lasted for a short while without proper care. But even with that, a rose's beauty is always breathtaking. _

_He also loved a good hobby he can finish with his hand; probably something like playing the piano or having a go at his PS2. Maybe just about anything that required his manipulation. _

_But now, Kaname Kuran had himself at a dilemma._

_For you see, he was in love with someone…extraordinary._

_This boy…_

_He had beauty not unlike a rose…but he does not fade away as fast. Sometimes, even leaving you with such an impression it becomes impossible to forget who did it to you or who said it to you._

_He had something against Kaname's manipulation and would sever any strings the brunette could try to pin to him just to get him to behave as the brunette had wanted. He was wild, yes, but beautifully so._

_In perspective, Kaname shouldn't even be in love with this person, seeing as they are –first of all- both male (it is a well-known fact that the vampire prince can have his pick of females, both human and vampire), and that they seemingly had no compatibility whatsoever._

_But that was not how Kaname saw things. _

_He saw Zero as a challenge he had to overcome in order to get another that he loved…Zero himself._

_To hell with those gender and compatibility issues!_

_The only thing that Kaname knows right now, as they sit beside each other while gazing at the moon…as he could see Zero's glittering amethyst eyes catching some star shine as he looked above and his silver hair reflecting the moonlight…_

_This was the person he wanted to be beside him. Forever. Period._

_And when Kaname Kuran says forever, he means __forever._

_The binding rule of such a word is also one of those things he likes._

…_as well as a breathless moan from one kiss-dizzied Zero Kiryuu. _

-------

Perry blinked at Pinkie, both perched on their favorite tree branch situated incidentally near the fountain. This was where they had their first 'couple perch' and neither of them could ever forget it (:3).

Maybe it was just because the fountain is such a romantic place, especially on a night like this…

"It was a beautiful song, Zero. I loved it."

Perry tilted his head to the side. That voice sounded very familiar. The name was on the tip of his beak….(XD)

"I..uh…Well, it's just that…I…Dammit! This is so difficult!!"

Pinkie chirruped a bit, recognizing Zero's voice at once. It was that nut job who talked to them a few weeks ago!

"I believe no more words are needed."

The bluebirds stared at the scene before them, the two figures beside the fountain merging to form one. Then there was a breathless moan.

Perry looked at Pinkie questioningly, almost as if asking what the two were doing. Pinkie just shook his small blue head and poised to fly off.

Humans really were nut jobs after all.

--------

….

"Mmm…Kah-na-meh…"

"I love it when you say my name like that."

"Mmm—OW!"

"Zero? What's wrong??"

"Something snagged my tongue!"

"Oh. That must be my braces."

"…………………….. Your what?"

"Braces. Didn't you see them? Well, they're kind of hard to see. But anyway, where were we?"

"No way am I kissing you again with those…things in your mouth."

"What?? Why???? They're just braces!!"

"I know. But they cut my tongue. I'll kiss you when you get those things off—"

"They cut your tongue? Are you okay, though?"

"Yeah. My tongue's just bleeding a bit—"

"……….. Bleeding, you say…?"

"Yes, bleed—oh crap. Oh holy, freaking cra—"

….

"Mmmnmnn…" –gasp!-- "Kaname, you sadistic bastard!!"

"It's vampire, honey. Vam-pire."

"Dammit, I hate those braces."

"Oh, I don't know. I kind of like them…now."

!---- OWARI -----!

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YAYZ! Last chapter finished!! Sorry for all the giant plot holes. Heck, I didn't even specify when this fic was situated in the original VK timeline. But I guess you can tell…somewhat. Hehe. At least it was sweet. :3

Also, sorry for the delay. I'm going to school in a few days (two, to be exact) so I wanted to finish this before I get gobbled by schoolwork yet again. (-groan-). I miss summer already. XD

Oh yea, the song is Your Call by Secondhand Serenade. :D

Thanks for all the support and reviews! Mind giving me one more review? I finished, didn't I? XD

Ja ne! :D


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